Love, Honor and Obey
by Little Miss Flo
Summary: Sam Carter is arrested - for being single. Trapped too far from the gate to escape, and with a valuable trade deal hanging in the balance, Sam and Jack must go through the Yantaran marriage rites, or face the consequences. S/J throughout.
1. Chapter 1

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 1**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Curse word and mild threat of violence 

* * *

'Well,' said Jack, 'this is a cliché.'

He kept his P90 trained on the closest security officer holding a gun to Carter's head, but his eyes flickered around the room, watching everyone. SG-1 all had weapons pointing steadily at different security guards. They were hopelessly outnumbered. Every hostile weapon in the room was aiming directly at his 2IC.

Tension reverberated through his body, and there was a war for control going on his head between the cold, calculating military commander and the man terrified for the life of the woman beside him. The military half was also apoplectically angry that such a war for control could be allowed to take place in his mind at a time like this, but his last brush with almost losing Carter had been all too recent. Of course, none of this showed on his face. That wouldn't do at all.

Noah Ranar – the government official who had been giving them a guided tour of the small but beautiful town of Verao on P5X-336, and the only unarmed person in the room – crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows condescendingly.

'You should lower your weapons, Colonel. You are at a distinct disadvantage, and if you open fire we will have no qualms about executing the criminal.'

Two things irked Jack about that sentence. The first was that Noah – the rat bastard – was right. The disadvantage they were at was indeed clear. The second was his casual referral to Carter as 'the criminal'.

'And if you hurt her I will have no qualms about opening fire.' Jack countered with a humourless smirk. 'But you already knew that.'

'I still don't understand what I did.' Carter said uncertainly, glancing at Daniel.

Daniel shifted his weight and adjusted his grip on his Beretta. 'I don't think they liked it when you said you weren't married.' He said. 'Am I right?'

Noah scowled. 'It is one of our most sacred laws. All women must be married upon reaching adulthood. This woman has clearly been an adult for many years. For her to roam our planet unmarried is the highest insult you could possibly afford us, and a criminal act.'

'Oh for crying out loud –' Jack began to gripe, but Daniel cut him off with an urgent wave of the hand.

'Noah, we're very sorry, but as you know we're not from this planet. We're not familiar with your laws or customs and we didn't know that women must be married. We didn't intend to cause you any offense. Surely you can understand that?' Daniel said earnestly.

'Your intentions are irrelevant. A crime has been committed and the woman must be punished.'

'Over my dead body.' Jack muttered, trigger finger itching.

'Please just let us go home.' Daniel said. 'We'll go back through the stargate and never return. No one has to get hurt here.'

'Even if I was inclined to grant your request, I could not allow Major Carter to travel the distance from Verao to Nanao unmarried. I would be arrested myself for aiding a criminal.' Noah said scornfully. 'She cannot leave.'

Jack huffed, hating this situation more with every passing minute. 'Well then, what are you going to do? You won't let us leave, but neither one of us are going to be first to open fire. Your move.'

He watched as the politician twitched nervously as he considered. The man was clearly not used to making this sort of tactical decision.

'Take them to the guest quarters and hold them there under guard.' He ordered eventually.

The guards closed in around SG-1, attempting to herd them out of the room. Daniel started hesitantly towards the door, but Carter and Teal'c held their ground, watching for Jack's order. He nodded tersely, and they relented, weapons still held ready as they allowed themselves to be led from the room.

 _Shit,_ he thought, _that went south fast.  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 2**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: None 

* * *

Sam stood looking out of the window of the accommodation the team were being held in, cradling her P90, and silently fuming. Certainly this was far from the first time they had butted heads with a society with backward views about women, but this one had taken her by surprise.

The Yantarans were an uncommonly advanced society technologically, compared to most worlds they encountered. The town built around the stargate, Nanao, was at least 300 miles from the town of Verao in which they were currently being held, but the journey over rough terrain had taken them less than a day thanks to the Yantarans' motor vehicles. Their towns, though small, were a thing of beauty, structures of a mixture of glass and wood in an artful design that combined their love of nature with a passion for technology and learning. Sam had been enamoured of Yantar, aka P5X 336, from the start.

'I don't get it.' The colonel said from the doorway behind her. 'SG-15's report didn't once mention any kind of inequality between men and women here. In fact, isn't their leader a woman?'

'Yes, she is.' Daniel replied. 'And SG-15's report also said many of the scientists and politicians they met on their first visit in Nanao were women. But I don't think this is a matter of inequality, exactly.'

'You don't?' Sam said, turning round and fixing the archaeologist with a glare. 'It doesn't strike you as at all unfair that they don't care whether any of you are married, but me they'll treat like a criminal unless there's a man to vouch for me?'

Daniel winced. 'That's not what I meant, Sam. I just mean that it doesn't seem like the women are being held back at all here. There's no glass ceiling as far as I can see, and it's not like the women are being kept behind closed doors or prevented from participating fully in society. I think this is more of a cultural or religious thing.'

Colonel O'Neill looked at Daniel sharply. 'Religious? I thought you said the Goa'uld cleared out of here centuries ago?'

'They did, but if you'd been paying attention during the briefing, you would know that the Yantarans are a deeply spiritual people.' Daniel said, exasperated. 'They have an almost religious reverence for nature and the circle of life. I suspect this law has more to do with regulating reproduction than about curtailing the rights of women.'

'But that doesn't make any sense.' Sam argued. 'If they have a reverence for the natural circle life then why would they want to interfere with it by regulating how and when women get married and have children?'

Daniel gave an awkward shrug. 'I don't know, I haven't exactly been focussing on that since we got here. I've mostly been trying to get a feel for their commerce laws and diplomatic customs so that I can broker this trade deal.'

'O'Neill.' Teal'c cut across the conversation authoritatively. 'Someone approaches.'

SG-1 stood ready, weapons in hand, and Sam felt a rush of gratitude that they had been able to hold onto the guns despite their situation. Being armed was comforting, even knowing that being so far from the gate made shooting their way out a non-starter.

A woman of very small stature with vivid red hair appeared at the door. She raised an eyebrow as she took in the team's weapons, but didn't comment on them.

'Colonel O'Neill, I presume?' She smiled in a tight, forced manner in the colonel's direction. 'My name is Vaya Maroa. I am the leader of the Yantarans.'

'I wish I could say it was nice to meet you, but given that a member of my team has been threatened …' Jack said.

'Of course, Colonel, I understand. It is my sincere hope that we can resolve this misunderstanding in short order.'

Sam caught the colonel's eyes, eyebrows raised in surprise.

'Well, I'm glad to hear you say that.' Jack said cautiously.

'Perhaps we could sit and discuss it.' Daniel suggested. 'As I'm sure you can appreciate, we're not completely familiar with all of your laws, and we'd like to try and understand the nature of the problem.'

'I think that would be for the best.' Vaya agreed, and motioned for the team to sit at the dining table by the window.

'Firstly, Major Carter, can I just confirm that you are indeed unmarried?' Vaya addressed Sam.

Sam looked to the colonel uncertainly, and then opted for honesty. 'Yes, that's correct. In our society there are no laws requiring women – or men – to marry. It's a matter of personal choice.'

Vaya looked surprised at this. 'I see.' The small woman carefully folded her hands on the table in front of her and licked her lips, clearly considering her words.

'What I need to explain to you,' Vaya began, 'is that the law requiring women to marry upon reaching adulthood is among our oldest. When our society was founded, over a hundred generations ago, this law was one of the sixteen upon which our government, and indeed our culture, was based. It is not just a law, it is a sacred duty, and to break it is – to us – unthinkable. There are many who would find the idea of any woman, even one from another planet, roaming freely amongst us unmarried, to be extremely offensive.'

'I don't mean to cause offense.' Sam said quietly. 'But I can't change who I am.'

'I know, Major.' Vaya gave a strained smile.

'Vaya, the trade deal we were about to make was very important to both of our peoples. In the interests of that trade deal, couldn't an exception be made? This is likely just one of many cultural differences that we have, but there are probably even more similarities that we share. If we're going to be allies, wouldn't it be better to begin on a foundation of tolerance for each other's cultures?' Daniel asked.

'Were it any other law, Dr Jackson, I would certainly agree with you. But this issue strikes at the core of who we are as a people. The responsibility a woman holds to reproduce and contribute to the survival of our race and the ongoing cycle of life is our most precious value. It is not easy, and perhaps not possible, to let the matter slide.'

Sam felt her fists clenching around her P90 under the table, and fought the urge to say something that would get them all into trouble. The implication that her highest duty as a woman was to settle down and have kids riled her, especially in view of the even more significant contributions she had made to the survival of the human race as a member of SG-1.

'So that's it?' Jack asked. 'Just because Carter has dedicated her life to saving the billions of people on Earth and throughout the galaxy rather than getting hitched and raising a couple of kids, the trade deal – that _you_ wanted so much – is off?'

Sam felt a rush of warmth towards her commanding officer and shot him a grateful smile.

Vaya, though, looked stunned. 'B-billions?'

Jack blinked. 'What?'

'You said there were _billions_ of people on Earth?'

'About seven billion, give or take, yeah.'

Vaya gaped at him. SG-1 exchanged perplexed looks.

'We did explain to Noah that Earth is the world where humans first evolved.' Daniel said uncertainly. 'Didn't he pass that on to you?'

'Well, yes, but I didn't realise that meant … how ever did you reach those numbers?'

'It's been thousands and thousands of years.' Daniel explained. 'And populations can grow quite quickly if left unchecked.'

'Without laws insisting on reproduction?' Vaya asked.

'It's not like it's a chore.' Jack said, grinning. Sam gave him a startled look and saw him flinch as Daniel kicked him under the table.

'Vaya,' said Daniel, 'I think maybe we're missing something here. Do the people on Yantar have difficulty having children?'

'Of course.' Vaya said, spreading her hands. 'Most couples struggle to achieve two successful pregnancies. Those that manage to have more than two children are honoured above all.'

Suddenly it all made sense. This law had woven itself into their core belief system because otherwise they would have died out as a race.

She saw the same thought go through the minds of her friends.

'So that's why this law is so important to your culture.' Daniel said. 'On Earth, most people don't have that much trouble having children.'

Vaya frowned, nodding. 'I understand.' She said softly.

'You do?' Jack asked. 'So you'll let Carter go?'

Vaya looked up at Sam sharply, before answering Jack. 'As I told you Colonel, it's not that simple.'

She stood, and met each of their gazes with a steady, serious expression. 'However, as you pointed out, it is in our best interests to proceed with this trade agreement. You have given me much to consider. I would ask for your patience while I decide how I should proceed.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 3  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: None

* * *

Jack was bored out of his mind.

It had been three hours since Vaya Maroa had left to consider what to do with them, and although the Yantarans had graciously allowed SG-1 to keep hold of their weapons – a decision Jack found bizarre, although he certainly wasn't going to argue – their packs had been confiscated. Which meant there was absolutely nothing he could use to distract himself from the constant, nagging tension throbbing in his skull.

Carter, to her credit, seemed to be handling the situation pretty well. She was currently sitting on the floor next to Daniel, apparently just waiting patiently for Vaya's return.

Jack didn't know how she was doing it, as he was about ready to start tearing his hair out. There was something quite perverse about being fully armed and yet utterly powerless. He mentally kicked himself for the hundredth time for allowing his team to be led so far from the gate. Even if they did shoot their way out of the building, the sheer distance they would then have to travel on foot over occupied territory made escape completely impossible.

He had let his guard down. This mission was their first since Carter's abduction at the hands of the dying millionaire Adrian Conrad, and the gunshot wound he himself had received during her rescue. It was supposed to be a cake-walk, just an easy trade negotiation with an advanced and friendly society who were as eager for the trade deal as they were, if not more so. Daniel would do all the heavy lifting with the negotiations, Teal'c would temper Daniel's enthusiasm and keep him from getting carried away, and all he and Carter had to do was relax and enjoy the hospitality.

God, he felt like an idiot.

The minute he had assumed this planet was safe just because he wanted it to be, was the minute he had put Carter's life at risk, once again. Ironically it was the same mistake he had made on Earth, and that had led to two days going by before anyone realised she was missing.

'It's going to be alright.' Daniel said. He was sitting next to Carter, and nudged her supportively as he said it. 'They want the trade deal too badly to sacrifice it over this.'

'I hope you're right.' She said in a small voice. The smile she gave Daniel looked so strained that Jack had second thoughts about his assumption that she was doing okay with this. _Damn_. This was supposed to be the mission that helped her get her confidence back.

After an eternity of waiting, or so it felt to Jack, Vaya came back. SG-1 got to their feet, the men flanking Carter protectively. She looked simultaneously annoyed and grateful for that, somehow.

'I have reached a decision.' Vaya announced. She gestured for them to sit back at the table once more, and they settled in the seats tensely.

'As you know, our people are very interested in establishing trade, and an alliance, with the people of the Tau'ri. It is therefore in our best interests not to engage in a criminal prosecution of Major Carter. However, not only has the law been broken, but as a people we have been deeply offended. I know that was not your intention –' she said, holding up a hand to forestall the various objections about to be voiced by the team before her, 'but nevertheless it is the case.'

'I have discussed the matter at length with the Yantaran Senior Councillors, and with our spiritual leaders, and we have agreed on a compromise. We cannot allow Major Carter to travel between Verao and Nanao freely, unmarried, and neither can we in good conscience enter into a trade agreement or alliance with your people with the situation as it stands. However, we are prepared to proceed with the trade negotiations and release Major Carter without charge or punishment, if she consents to get married here in Verao, according to our custom, first.'

There was a beat of utter silence.

'Excuse me?' Jack spluttered. He looked at Carter, expecting her to look murderous, but she had her hands steepled together in front of her face and her eyes closed.

'Wait, just hang on a minute Jack.' Daniel cut in quickly. 'This might not be a bad idea; the Yantarans need a way to safeguard their code of ethics, we need a way for everyone to go home safely, and we all want the trade deal. This could be a good compromise.'

Now Carter looked murderous, and her icy blue glare was directed straight at Jack's favourite archaeologist. 'Daniel…?' She said in a low, dangerous voice.

'Look, no offense, but we don't know the first thing about your marriage ceremony.' Jack said to Vaya. 'And I'm not about to let you marry off my second in command to a complete stranger from a culture we know almost nothing about. I'm responsible for her safety.' In the back of his mind, he realised he probably should have worded that differently, but was too angry to give it much thought right now.

'I can assure you that the marriage ceremony is perfectly benign. No harm will come to you, Major Carter.' Vaya levelled what Jack thought was probably supposed to be a comforting look at Carter, before turning back to him. 'And Colonel, I am aware that as the leader you are the one responsible for Major Carter, and I wouldn't expect the Major to marry a Yantaran man given that she intends to return to the Tau'ri with you at the conclusion of our trade negotiations. I was instead intending that you participate in the marriage rituals with her, and marry her yourself.'

Jack felt a swell of panic, his heart pounding in his throat. 'Oh you were?' He asked in what he felt was an astoundingly calm tone. He didn't dare look at Carter.

'Yes. The marriage rituals traditionally take place around the sunset hours, over the course of eight days. You would be free to participate in our trade negotiations along with Dr Jackson and Teal'c in the daytime, and then go through the marriage rituals at the temple with Major Carter in the evenings. Of course –' she glanced uneasily at Carter, 'the Major will be required to remain confined to the temple, until such time as you have completed the marriage.'

She said this in a completely reasonable tone of voice, completely oblivious to the acrobatics being performed by Jack's pounding heart. Daniel, ever the diplomat, came to his rescue.

'Um, Vaya, I understand why you're suggesting that Colonel O'Neill be the one to do this with Sam, but I don't think you realise what you're asking of him. Jack is Sam's commanding officer in the military, there are rules that prevent them from entering into a marriage together.'

'Are these rules more important than this trade deal and Major Carter being allowed to return home to her people?' Vaya asked brusquely.

Daniel gaped a little, mouth opening and closing a few times as he floundered for a response.

'That's irrelevant.' Jack said. 'The point is we're not free to make that decision.'

'You have scheduled radio contact with your superiors at Stargate Command, do you not?' Vaya asked.

'Ah, yes, they'll be dialling the gate and contacting us by radio in the next couple of hours.' said Daniel.

'Then get permission from them.' Vaya said, as though this was obvious.

'Vaya, perhaps we could have a little time to discuss your proposal amongst ourselves?' Carter asked.

'As you wish. Consider it, and I will return this evening to hear your answer. But please understand that this is the best I can offer you. If you do not go through with this Major, I will be unable to protect you from the full force of our laws.'

Vaya left, leaving SG-1 sitting alone at the table, Jack and Daniel on one side, Carter and Teal'c on the other. For the first time since Vaya's absurd suggestion that he marry his second-in-command, Jack made himself look at Carter properly. She looked tense, her gaze fixed determinedly down at her hands on the table.

'Carter, I'm sorry about all of this.' He said. 'I should never have let us get so far from the gate.'

'It's not your fault, sir, we all thought we were safe here.' She said.

'I should have done more background work on their cultural traditions,' Daniel chimed in, 'I just assumed SG-15 would have covered all of that and I focussed all my attention on the trade deal.'

'I too am at fault. I should have suggested we remain in Nanao for the negotiations and I should have prevented our capture.' Said Teal'c.

Jack held up his hands. 'Ok, ok, I get it, we all made mistakes.' _I'm the one in command though,_ he thought. _I'm responsible._

'Are you going to do it?' Daniel asked.

Jack winced. He could feel Carter watching him. 'Right now I can't see that we have much choice. I guess we'll see what Hammond says.'

'I wish we knew more about what the marriage rituals entail.' said Carter.

'If they really are 'benign' like Vaya said, this might not be that big of a deal.' said Daniel.

'Or on the other hand, we may end up sacrificing a goat and dancing naked round a bonfire at midnight, chanting.' Jack countered. Carter looked scandalised. _Oops._

'They don't really strike me as the naked-dancing goat-sacrificing type, Jack.' Daniel argued, giving him a funny look.

'I'm just saying, I agree with Carter, it would be better if we knew exactly what was on the table here.'

No one could argue with that.

'Guys, can you give Carter and I a minute to talk alone?' Jack asked.

Daniel and Teal'c nodded and rose, going to sit at the window on the far side of the room and leaving Jack and Sam alone at the table.

'How are you doing with all of this, Carter?' Jack asked quietly.

'I'm ok, sir. I mean, I hate the situation and I'd really like to punch someone on the nose, but I'm ok.'

Jack nodded. 'And if we have to … you know, do this fake alien marriage thing to get you out of here …'

'I'll do what I have to do to get home, sir. I won't let you down.'

'You could never let me down.' Jack said, maybe a bit too quickly and sincerely. She looked up at him with big blue eyes wide. 'What I mean is, I won't order you to marry me. We could find another way out of this.'

Carter shook her head. 'I don't think so, sir. Vaya really didn't seem like she was going to back down, and we can't fight our way out this far from the gate.'

Jack sighed. She was right. 'We'll see what Hammond says.' He said. _That's going to be a fun conversation,_ he thought, _'Hi sir, guess what, Carter's going to get convicted as a criminal unless she and I get hitched. Permission to blow the frat regs to hell?'_


	4. Chapter 4

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 4  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Forced medical testing  
Author note: You'll notice I skipped over the conversation with Hammond. I did take a few runs at it, but it kept coming out sounding predictable and contrived. In the end I decided the problem was there wasn't anything for Hammond to do other than reluctantly agree, which just wasn't entertaining to read or write (I blame my own limitations as a novice writer for that one!), and so I've just plowed onward. Hope you don't mind too much.

* * *

Two days later, Sam lay under a tree in the temple gardens in the late afternoon sun, staring up at the blue sky through a canopy of leaves that ranged from green, through yellow and orange to a colour close to pink. It was beautiful, and the accompaniment of the light breeze rustling in the leaves and the nearby babbling fountain made the whole setting ridiculously idyllic.

Truth be told though, despite the obvious beauty of her surroundings, she was bored out of her mind and felt so tense and trapped that she feared she might deck the next servant who approached with a drink.

It was a very pretty prison, but a prison nonetheless. The fact that she wasn't drugged and strapped to a hospital bed was small consolation compared to the reality that she was trapped, and about to be forced into a very personal situation with the commanding officer she wasn't allowed to love.

It had been over 24 hours since she had laid eyes on her team, and the lack of contact was nerve-wracking.

The temple was home and school to every girl on the verge of womanhood on Yantar. As near as Sam could tell, the ages of her much younger companions ranged from around seventeen to twenty. Each would be married in the same rituals she was about to face, before their twenty-first birthday. None of them seemed to mind that they had no choice in the matter, but then most of them had been able to choose their own future husbands and get to know them well, long before they arrived at the temple for their 'spiritual' education.

'Major Sam?'

One of the exceptions to that rule stood a few meters away, Sam saw, blinking against the after-image imprinted on her retinas of the bright sky streaming through the leaves.

'Lilia, I told you, just call me Sam.'

'Sorry, Sam.'

Sam smiled, her previous rancour cooling somewhat. After all, it wasn't Lilia's fault she was trapped. Again.

'Madam Leyna sent me tell you that your betrothed has just left the council chambers and is on his way.'

 _My betrothed. God._

'Thank you Lilia.' Sam patted the ground beside her. 'Join me?'

The girl gave a nervous smile and sat down. She reminded Sam of Cassie, in a lot of ways. Lilia was a fair bit older than the Hankan orphan, but her shy disposition made her seem much younger than her twenty years. Sam's heart ached for the girl who would soon be wed to a stranger, despite her obvious reticence.

Lilia had seemed enamoured of Sam since her arrival. Whereas most of the girls in the temple avoided Sam, thinking her a criminal or just plain afraid of the strangeness of a woman her age without a husband, Lilia was fascinated.

'How were your lessons today?' Sam asked politely.

'Ok. Madam Leyna says I have to try harder in conflict resolution class, but I had music class all afternoon.' The wide smile that accompanied the end of that sentence demonstrated Lilia's enthusiasm for her music quite eloquently.

'I would have thought you'd be great at conflict resolution. You seem like quite a calm person to me.'

'Oh I am.' Lilia agreed. 'That's the problem, actually. Madam Leyna says I'm a pushover.'

Sam resisted rolling her eyes. They'd trapped this poor, sweet, quiet girl in a temple for five months, were forcing her to marry a stranger, and were surprised that she seemed a little cowed?

'Just stand up for what you truly believe in, and remember that what you feel matters just as much as what the other person feels. You'll get the hang of it.'

'Is that what you do?'

'Sure. Us girls have to stick up for ourselves.' _Wow, that sounded way less trite in my head._ Sam winced.

'But what if you know that what you feel is wrong?' Lilia asked in a quiet voice after a few minutes of silence.

Sam looked up at her in surprise. 'Lilia, what –'

'Carter!' The colonel's shout from the other side of the garden cut through their conversation like a freight train. Lilia jumped to her feet with a hurried goodbye, and scurried away.

Sam stood, watching the young girl go with concern. Something was going on there, and she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it.

The colonel slowed as she stood and he got his first good look at her. She wrapped her arms around her bare stomach self-consciously, feeling the way his eyes trailed over the dusky red, floaty, sari-like outfit they'd given her as though it was a physical touch.

He coughed, and met her eyes. 'Nice outfit.' He smiled awkwardly.

'Wait till you see what they've got for you.' She teased. She only said it to scare him; as far as she knew, they weren't going to ask Jack to wear anything other than his uniform. _Damn double standards._

His eyes widened comically before he recovered himself. 'Well, I'm sure I'll look just as fetching as you do, Major.'

* * *

'How are the negotiations going?' Carter asked him while they waited in the temple for Madam Leyna.

'I don't know, fine, I think.' Jack answered distractedly. 'Daniel seems enthusiastic, although I've always felt that if it takes that long to reach an agreement on every tiny part of the contract, it can't be going _that_ well.'

'I think that's just how it works, sir. If it was too quick and easy both sides would wonder if they were being short-changed.'

'Yeah, well, I'd take a fire-fight with a bunch of jaffa over a long, _dull_ trade negotiation any day of the week.'

'At least you have something to do, sir.' She'd said it with a chuckle, but Jack heard the frustrated undertone anyway.

'Getting pretty bored, huh?'

'Like you wouldn't believe.'

'Try thinking of it as a vacation, Carter. You get to hang out in this temple that looks like a five-star spa for eight days, and then we go home.'

'I've never really been the spa type, sir.'

'Well, maybe I can convince them to give you back your laptop. Or something to read.' He offered.

'That would be great, thank you sir.'

'You bet.'

Leyna, a middle-aged woman whose height rivalled Carter's, flowed into the room with a busy air and opened a door on the other side of the room.

'Hello to you both. My name is Leyna and I'll be guiding you through the marriage rites over the coming days. Colonel, if you would come with me please. Samantha, wait here, and I'll be back for you in a moment.'

Jack stood slowly, and with a last uncertain wave in Carter's direction, followed Leyna through the temple rooms. Eventually he found himself being ushered into a small room with red and orange cushions on the floor and red drapes hanging from the ceiling. Leyna opened a cupboard and handed him a red plastic cup.

He took the cup with a sinking feeling.

'Before the marriage rites begin, we will need to ensure that you are capable of producing children.' Leyna informed him briskly. 'I will leave you alone in this room to produce a sample of your seed in this cup. When you are done, exit the room and an attendant will take the cup to be tested. After that you will be free to go for the evening.'

'Is this really necessary?' Jack asked. 'I mean, you know that we're just going home after the trade agreement and marriage thing. It won't matter to your society whether Carter and I can have kids or not.'

Leyna gave a tight smile. 'I'm afraid that is not the point, Colonel. Has it not been explained to you that the marriage rites, and procreation, are all woven very deeply into our spirituality?'

Jack sighed. 'It has. OK fine, I'll do it, but I want a guarantee that you'll destroy the sample after you've tested it. I don't want you keeping it to make any test tube babies.'

Leyna looked at him askance. 'Be assured Colonel, we would never dream of using your sample in that way. It will be destroyed, you have my solemn oath.'

Just as Leyna was about to leave, something occurred to Jack. 'Hang on, what about Carter?'

'I'm sorry, Colonel?'

'You're not going to be 'testing' her too, are you?'

'Well of course we are. Otherwise there would be little point in testing you.'

'How?'

Leyna looked confused. 'How what, Colonel?'

'How are you testing her? What are you going to do to her? It's not like she can just produce a sample for you in a cup.'

'No, of course not. We will use a scanner.'

'A scanner? You mean like an ultra-sound? '

'I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with your terminology. She will be seen in the temple clinic, where we treat women having difficult pregnancies, and assess the fertility of all the women who pass through the temple. We use a scanner to detect any problems in the health and viability of the reproductive organs.'

Jack nodded, slightly more at ease now that he knew she wouldn't be subjected to something invasive. 'Break it to her gently, would you? She's not going to be happy about it.'

Leyna gave the first warm, genuine smile he had seen from her. 'I'm glad you care for her feelings. I will be gentle as I can.'

She left him and shut the door behind her with a click, leaving Jack to scowl at the little red cup.

* * *

Sam squeezed her eyes shut tight and tried to control her breathing. The worst of it was over, and the clinic attendants were tentatively unfastening the improvised straps they had used to tie down her limbs during the procedure. She hadn't been the most co-operative patient.

She had merely argued when Leyna announced their intention to perform fertility tests, but when the long, thin probe had been produced by a short woman wearing surgical gloves, she had opted for a more active form of resistance. Unfortunately Leyna seemed to have anticipated this, and she was swiftly subdued by a number of men she took to be security guards of some kind. The men's belts were employed haphazardly to strap her down on the table.

Arms and legs now liberated, she leapt off the table and snatched her floaty trousers from the floor and dressed quickly, glaring at the guards who were carefully avoiding her eye. She got the feeling they had been extremely uncomfortable with forcing her into that, but she wasn't inclined to feel sorry for them at the moment.

Leyna was nowhere to be seen, but an attendant – a girl in her twenties with dark curly hair – opened the door for her and indicated that she would take Sam back to the main room of the temple. Wrapping her arms around her bare middle, Sam stalked from the room and followed.

Jack was waiting for her there.

'Hey, Carter.'

'Sir.'

He was studying her with a frown, and she wondered if he had been told what they did to her. She made an effort to relax her body and to stop radiating so much tension.

'Leyna said they were going to scan you. Fertility testing …' he trailed off awkwardly.

Sam felt her fists clench. 'I guess that thing probably was some sort of scanner.'

'You ok?'

She rolled her neck and shrugged her shoulders. 'I'm seriously pissed off, but I'm not hurt.'

'Hurt?' The colonel's eyes darkened dangerously. 'Leyna described it like it was an ultrasound thing, like the sensor on the belly ...'

Sam winced. 'Not so much.' She didn't really want to admit what had happened, but the urge to talk to someone friendly about it won out. 'More like a … probe.'

'What?'

'It probably wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't fought them. They ended up strapping me to the table.'

She had expected him to fly off the handle, and found herself mildly alarmed when his eyes turned gentle and he walked slowly towards her instead.

'Carter, breathe. Deep breaths, in and out.'

Oh. She was hyperventilating. Damn.

She closed her eyes and took a few deep, steadying breaths. 'Sorry sir.'

'No, don't apologise. Are you going to be ok?'

'Yes sir, I'm fine. Really.'

'Good. I don't suppose there's anyone in particular I can beat the crap out of for this, is there?'

'Not without creating an even bigger diplomatic incident than the one we're currently trying to get out of, no sir.'

He sighed, and for a moment looked utterly defeated. 'Come and sit with me, Carter.'

Sam obligingly took a seat on a cushioned bench next to him, and they sat in companionable silence for a time while she soothed her frayed nerves.

'They gave me a specimen cup.' He told her eventually.

Sam chuckled humourlessly. 'With a little room and a magazine?'

'No magazine. Just a room.'

'You poor thing.' She teased lightly.

After a few more minutes of silence, Jack spoke softly. 'I'm worried about the results.'

Sam looked at him sharply. 'You are? Why?'

'I'm not as young as I used to be, and if my – you know – 'swimmers' – aren't all that they once were …'

'You're worried they'll say you can't do it, and make me do this with someone else.' Sam guessed.

Jack nodded, scowling at the opposite wall.

'If it's any consolation I'm pretty worried about my results too.' Sam offered.

'You're not even 35 yet Carter, you'll be fine.'

'We don't know that. When I think how much crap I've put my body through over the last four or five years …' she trailed off.

'Did they tell you how soon they'd have the results?' Jack asked.

'No. Leyna disappeared while they were –' she stopped abruptly. 'She didn't say.'

Sam let out a frustrated sigh and shook her hands to try and dispel some nervous energy, then let her head rest back against the wall.

'It's just … I really didn't need this, after Adrian Conrad …'

'I know, Sam.' Jack said, nudging her knee with his. 'I'm sorry.'


	5. Chapter 5

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 5  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Talk of assault

* * *

Jack flopped down on a chair in the cabin he shared with Daniel and Teal'c, pressing the heel's of his hands into his eyes to try and physically fight the headache behind his eyeballs. He suspected it was product of pent up rage.

'So … I take it that didn't go well.' Daniel said.

'That's one way of putting it. My way would involve a lot more cussing, and possibly some mindless violence.'

Teal'c and Daniel's eyebrows raised in unison.

'Was it the first marriage rite?' Daniel asked carefully.

'No. That's tomorrow. Today they gave us fertility tests.'

'Oh. Wow. And?'

'They'll give us the results tomorrow.' Jack said tiredly.

'Was this not to be expected, O'Neill, given the foundation of their spiritual beliefs lies in reproduction?' Teal'c asked.

Jack shook his head irritably. 'I know, I know, but it's not _what_ they did that's really bugging me, it's the manner in which they did it. No warning, just …' he broke off with a sigh. 'They forced it on Carter, and it was invasive. You should have seen her afterwards, she was … it was almost as bad as if they'd sexually assaulted her.'

Daniel gasped. 'Is she …?'

'She'll be ok. She was a bit shaken up immediately afterwards, but I stayed with her until she was feeling like herself again.'

Teal'c made a noise low in his throat, almost a growl. 'I would dearly like to hurt the person responsible.'

Jack sighed. 'You and me both, buddy. You and me both.'

'Jack, can I just ask, what's the plan for how you're going to deal with this when we get home? I mean, is General Hammond going to remove one of you from the team, or is this all going in 'the vault' never to be spoken of again?'

'The team will be fine. It's not like the marriage will be binding or anything on Earth. We just get through this as professionally as humanly possible and then re-establish boundaries when we get home.'

'I'm just asking because you're the only one who will see Sam at all while we're here, and with what's just happened with her getting kidnapped by Adrian Conrad, and now being held prisoner and being given invasive fertility tests and potentially being forced into personal situations in marriage rites … it really seems like she's going to need you to be a bit more supportive than just being her CO.'

Jack closed his eyes. 'You think I haven't thought of that?'

'What do you intend to do?' Teal'c asked.

'I figured I'd just try to be a friend. That way I can be supportive, she doesn't go stir crazy in the temple-prison, we can laugh off any marriage rite awkwardness, and hopefully it makes it easier to get back to a good working relationship afterwards.'

'Wow, you have thought about it.' Daniel observed, sounding impressed.

'That's why they pay me the big bucks, Danny.'

* * *

The next day, presumably prompted by the colonel following through on his promise to ask for the return of her laptop, Leyna filled Sam's time with tasks and activities to keep her occupied. She spent the majority of her time in the workshops and labs where the girls were given lessons in science and technology, learning everything she could and taking copious notes. She wished Leyna would just return her laptop as well – her notebook was quickly filling up.

She tried not to dwell on the pending results of the fertility tests.

The evening came too quickly, and she found herself once again sitting with the Colonel in the temple waiting for Leyna. He was clearly on edge too, his body held tautly and a vein twitching in his temple, his usual restless hands uncharacteristically still.

When Leyna arrived though, she smiled at them both, and Sam let out a sigh of relief.

'Colonel, Major, you will be pleased to hear that our testing shows you are both fertile.' She informed them briskly.

The colonel relaxed visibly, and shot Sam a wan smile.

'We will therefore proceed with the first of the rituals comprising the marriage ceremony this evening.' Leyna continued. 'Please follow me.'

The room she led them too was cosy, lit with candles, furnished with couches and strewn with drapes and cushions. Leyna took a seat in the circle of couches and indicated that they join her there.

'The purpose of these rituals,' she explained in a hushed voice, 'is to build your relationship, by learning about each other and creating a framework for a bond of love to grow over time.'

Sam shifted in her seat, deeply uncomfortable. _This is such a bad idea._

'The first ritual is sharing the past. It is perhaps the simplest of the rituals, and all that is required of you is to tell each other about your life so far.'

'Ah, well, in that case we've already done this one.' Jack said. 'We've known each other for years, we know about each other's pasts.'

Leyna smiled indulgently. 'That is good to hear, but you will still need to complete the ritual here, if only to demonstrate that knowledge to me. You may also find that there are parts of your lives that you have not discussed before which you would like to share now.'

Sam saw the colonel wince, clearly thinking that he seriously doubted that. She firmly squashed the hint of hurt she felt at the fact there was undoubtedly a great deal of his past that he wouldn't want to share with her.

'So, how does this work, exactly?' Sam asked. 'I mean, are there certain topics we have to cover, or do we have to start in a certain place …?'

'I will guide you through the discussion, by prompting you with questions or subjects to share. To start, Samantha, why don't you tell Jack about your immediate family.'

Sam cleared her throat and looked at the colonel, feeling awkward. 'Um, well, you already know my dad pretty well. My mom died in a car accident when I was a teenager, and my brother Mark lives in San Diego.'

'See?' Jack looked at Leyna and gestured vaguely in Sam's direction. 'I already knew all of that.'

'Okay, but Samantha, why don't you go into a little more detail. Talk about your brother, do you see him often, are you close, does he have a family of his own …?'

Sam sighed. 'We're not close and I don't seem him often. We actually didn't speak at all for a very long time, because he was angry with me for joining the Air Force – he saw it as me taking Dad's side in their feud. Basically he blamed Dad and the Air Force for our mother's death. For the last couple of years though, Dad's been trying to reconnect with him, so since then I've been seeing him every time Dad goes to visit.'

Sam stopped speaking, and Jack looked uncertainly at Leyna. Leyna rolled her eyes, looking like she wanted to knock their heads together. 'Do I need to teach the two of you how to have a conversation? Ask questions, Colonel!'

Jack glared at the woman briefly, then turned to Sam with an apologetic grimace. 'So … when you visit Mark, are things better between you guys?'

'I guess, a little. He still gets bad-tempered if Dad or I talk much about our jobs, even in an abstract way, and we really don't know each other very well. Mostly we're just polite, like we're strangers.'

'That sucks.'

'Yeah. We were really close as kids, because we moved around so much depending on where Dad was assigned, so a lot of the time we didn't have many friends and it was just us. It was so long ago though – we're different people now.'

Jack nodded, then looked at his hands for a moment before speaking. 'I had a brother too.'

Sam's eyebrows shot up. This was new to her. 'You did?'

'Yeah, his name was Michael, he was six years older than me. He died when I was eighteen – he was a marine, killed in action.'

'I'm so sorry. I didn't know that.'

'My mom and dad are still alive, but we were never a close family, even when I was a kid. I was pretty much raised by my grandparents. I haven't spoken to my parents in years. Not since Charlie's funeral, actually.'

Sam nodded, hoping Leyna would let the reference to Charlie slide – there was no reason to put the colonel through the ringer by talking about that.

'Are they still together?' She asked.

'No, they divorced when I was two years old. Had a lot of custody battles over me and my brother, until my grandparents had the good sense to completely remove us from that environment.'

'They sound like good people. Your grandparents, I mean.'

'Yeah, they were the best.' Jack smiled fondly at the memory, and Sam's heart tugged at the sight of it – he so rarely smiled.

'My cabin in Minnesota was theirs.' He offered after a moment.

'Really?'

'Yeah, you should take me up on that fishing trip invitation sometime. See it for yourself.' His eyes twinkled at her teasingly.

Sam felt heat rise in her cheeks and cleared her throat nervously. 'What else do we have to talk about?' She asked Leyna.

'How about your romantic histories? Colonel, why don't you start. Have you had any serious romantic attachments in your life?'

Jack raised his eyebrows. 'Well, as Carter here already knows, I was married.'

'To Sara. They've been divorced for about five years.' Sam said, looking at Leyna challengingly. 'And as the Colonel already knows, I was engaged to be married once to a man named Jonas.'

'And are you both aware of how and why those relationships ended?'

'Yes.' Sam said firmly.

'Well …' Jack looked at Sam askance.

'Colonel?' Leyna prompted.

'You know why Sara and I got divorced.' Jack said to Sam. 'But although having met the guy I can understand why you wouldn't have wanted to marry him, you never actually said why you ended the engagement.'

'Yes I did.' Sam argued.

'Why don't you tell him anyway?' Leyna asked, and Sam glared at the woman.

She sighed, and wrapped her arms around her bare stomach. 'We were together for three years, engaged for two, and he just … he changed a lot, in that time. He became more and more possessive and controlling, and it reached a point when I realised that it was only going to get worse, so I ended it before it could get out of hand.'

Jack nodded. 'Good decision.'

'Yeah.' She shivered, remembering just how unhinged he'd become at the end.

'Carter, was he ever … you know …' he struggled for the word, 'violent?'

Sam hesitated, eyes darting from Jack's to Leyna's. 'Not really. I mean, he got a little aggressive when he was really angry, or drunk, but … I didn't ever have to cover up bruises with make-up, if that's what you mean.'

Jack eyes darkened, and he looked far less than satisfied with that answer, but mercifully he let it drop.

'What about your very first relationships?' Leyna prompted.

'Lindy Hoffman, ninth grade.' Jack replied at once, with a smirk. 'She was the head cheerleader, we used to make out behind the bleachers.'

'The head cheerleader? Seriously?'

'I was a hormone-riddled teenager and she was hot, Carter. Give me a break.'

'I sense that in your culture, early relationships are not taken very seriously.' Leyna said.

'Sometimes they are, but there isn't usually any outside pressure to make it last forever, at that age.' Sam explained.

'I bet you dated the quarterback.' Jack said with a smirk.

'Absolutely not, sir, I had standards.' Sam countered with a grin. 'My first boyfriend was the president of the AV club.'

'Of course he was.'

'He was a very sweet boy and we broke up when I went to college.'

'And did you have your first sexual unions with those people?' Leyna asked them both.

Sam and Jack both froze and stared at Leyna.

Jack coughed. 'Bit personal, isn't it?'

Leyna frowned. 'You are entering into a marriage together, Colonel. Your sexual histories are something you should be comfortable talking to each other about.'

'Oh brother.' Sam buried her flaming face in her hands.

Jack sighed. 'Okay, fine: yes, Lindy Hoffman was my first.'

'Yeah, ah, me too.' Sam said awkwardly, refusing to meet the colonel's eye.

Leyna looked far from satisfied. 'Perhaps we should take a break.' She stood, and looked out the window at the evening twilight. 'We will resume when darkness has fallen. I suggest you take the time to reflect on our purpose here.'

Sam sat back against the tall, plush backrest of the couch and let out a deep breath. Jack stood and crossed to sit beside her.

'Maybe this wasn't such a great idea.' He said in the silence.

Sam closed her eyes. 'No sir.'

'But, there really wasn't much choice.'

'No sir.'

'I figured we could just, you know, power through it. Do the bare minimum to get them off our backs, get the job done, go home.'

'Eyes on the prize, sir?'

'Exactly. Eyes on the prize.'

They sat in silence for another moment.

'Maybe you should drop the sir.' Jack suggested. 'Might make it easier to talk about … the stuff we have to talk about.'

'I was avoiding saying it when we were talking with Leyna.'

'I noticed, but I'm talking about the rest of the time too. I think if we're going to get through this charade in one piece, it's gonna have to be as … friends … rather than commanding officer and subordinate.'

'I'm not sure I understand what you're saying, sir – I mean, uh …'

'Yeah, that's what I mean, Sam. The 'sir' is automatic with you, but you need to stop it. Try tapping into whatever corner of your mind you stuffed Thera into – she never had a problem busting my balls.'

Sam stared at him in utter incredulity. 'I can't believe you just said that.'

'What?'

Sam shook her head and said nothing.

'I'm just saying, for the duration of this mission, let's be Jack and Sam the friends, not Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter the consummate professionals.' He said.

'It's not that easy and you know it, s – ' she cut herself off with an irritated gesture.

'Why not?'

'We're consummate professionals all the time for a reason. We need those boundaries. I can't go into this without knowing where we're drawing the line.'

'That part's easy – we just don't say or do anything that we couldn't just brush off if we were friends.'

Sam gave him an odd look.

Jack huffed, frustrated. 'I _mean_ , if we were just friends. Only friends. Friends and nothing else. Damn it you know what I mean.'

'So … we don't say or do anything that, for example, Daniel and I couldn't handle if he were here instead of you.'

' _Exactly._ ' Jack said, pleased.

Sam nodded thoughtfully. 'Okay, that could work.'

'Yeah?'

'And if at any point things get too awkward or weird, I just close my eyes and imagine you're Daniel.'

Jack gaped at her. ' _So_ not what I meant, Carter.'

Sam grinned at him, eyes twinkling.

'Oh ha ha. Very funny.' He said sarcastically.

She laughed and then took a deep, fortifying breath. 'Okay. Okay. We can do this.'

'Sure we can, if you're comfortable enough to make fun of me already.'

'Well, you did tell me to tap into Thera and bust your balls.' She said, somewhat acidly.

'And you're mad at me for suggesting that … why?'

She gave him another somewhat incredulous look. 'If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you.'

'Oh you are _such_ a girl, sometimes.'

'Yup.'

Jack rolled his eyes. 'I'm going to find the facilities.'


	6. Chapter 6

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 6  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Talk of sexual assault

* * *

'Are you ready to continue?' Leyna asked as she sat back down when darkness had fallen.

Jack held Sam's eye for a moment, and satisfied with the level of confidence he saw there, nodded. 'We are.'

'Good. Now, I'm going to ask a more open-ended question. Colonel, I'd like you to share something with Samantha that you think she, as your wife-to-be, should know about you or your past. Something she doesn't already know.'

 _Oy,_ Jack thought. He forcibly reminded himself of his own rule, that he and Sam were going to do this as friends. He just had to tell his friend something personal, that's all. He looked into her wide blue eyes and almost sighed. _Just friends. Yeah, right._

'I loved Sara, when I was married to her. We were happy, and thinking about getting home to her was what got me through a lot of tough missions, back in the day. But … she didn't get me. Sometimes after a bad mission, I'd have nightmares, or flashbacks, or get angry or depressed and she couldn't understand why, and she wouldn't know how to deal with me. She'd get mad at me because I couldn't tell her what went on in my dreams, or because I couldn't explain why I'd get a call and have to pick up and go to work suddenly in the middle of a meal, or in the middle of doing something as a family, when I was supposed to be on stand down. She just … she didn't understand the life, and that wasn't her fault, but it put a certain distance between us. I loved her, but she wasn't my best friend.'

Jack watched Sam's face carefully, and wondered suddenly when she'd picked up his trick of wearing a mask, a poker face to hide what was going on inside. She'd been so young, so innocent once. It hadn't even been that long ago.

'I'm telling you this, because I think that would be the biggest difference between my marriage to Sara, and my marriage to, well, to someone like you.' He finished. Sam's mask wavered and she sucked in a harsh breath, nodding stiffly.

'That was excellent, Colonel. Samantha, your turn.'

Sam looked just as alarmed at the prospect as Jack had felt, and he tried to look friendly, and open, to reassure her. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat, nervously.

'Jonas said something to me, before he died – that he was my one failure, the bird with the broken wing that wouldn't heal. The truth is, I have a bit of a track record of falling for –' she cut herself off abruptly and tried again, 'of getting into relationships with men who have some pretty serious issues. It's like what I said to Daniel when I was trying to explain my relationship with Jonas to him – I've always had a soft spot for the lunatic fringe.'

Jack raised his eyebrows, resisting the urge to make a joke at his own expense.

'So, because of that, sometimes I'm not sure I've ever experienced a normal, healthy relationship. My love life has basically been an escalating series of bad choices ending in disaster.'

'Are you saying I might need to teach you how to just relax and be happy?' Jack quipped, smirking.

Sam let out a shaky laugh and shook her head. 'Something like that.'

'On the other hand, I'm probably the biggest lunatic yet.' He couldn't resist.

Sam grinned. One of the huge, heart-melting, megawatt grins he secretly lived for. 'I think I can cope with your brand of lunacy, sir.'

It wasn't worth calling her out for the 'sir'. He just smiled back.

'Well done, both of you. I can see you took my advice to heart during the break. The next area we need to cover, is emotional scars caused by your past, which may affect your relationship in the future.'

Instantly the smile dropped from Jack's face. _Crap._

'Colonel, you go first.' Leyna prompted. _Double crap._

'What, I don't get a minute to think about it?'

'By all means, take a minute.'

Jack took a deep breath. He'd really been trying to avoid any mention of Charlie in front of Leyna, and Carter seemed to be supporting him in that, so although she would know that his son's death was the biggest scar of them all, he decided against being _that_ honest. He needed to say something though, and he owed it to Carter to give her something real.

'You already know this, but I got left behind on a mission once, and ended up stuck in an Iraqi prison for three months. During that time I was tortured, starved, and basically de-humanised. It was a long time ago, and I like to think I'm completely over it, but the truth is I still get nightmares occasionally, and on a rare occasion something will happen that reminds me of it. On those days … I'm not much fun to be around at home. Of course, that hasn't mattered lately as no one's had the misfortune to share my home, but … well. It's something that a person who was going to be my wife should know.'

Sam nodded with kind eyes and a tight smile that spoke of empathy.

'Thank you, Colonel. Samantha?'

Sam took a moment to think, and Jack relaxed his taut muscles, watching her ponder what to say.

'As much as I hate to admit it, my relationship with Jonas probably scarred me.' She said quietly. 'I got used to putting his needs, and what he wanted, first, all the time, just to avoid starting a fight. I lost myself, a bit. He just chipped away bits of me until one day I didn't even recognise myself. That was the day I gave back the ring.

'The truth is … I'm afraid that being in a relationship with anyone again after that, will make me go back to that bad habit, of turning myself into someone else to fit the other person's ideal of me.'

Jack felt a bit stunned. He'd known Sam five years, and honestly couldn't imagine her letting a man do that to her. The Carter he knew was tough as nails; tougher, even. He had trouble reconciling that Carter, with Sam the woman who Jonas Hanson had manipulated and wounded.

'Carter … _Sam._ You're a different person now than you were back then. You're older and wiser, and you've been through hell and worse and survived. I know you wouldn't make that mistake again.'

Sam smiled at him. 'Thanks.'

'And God knows I'd sooner die than treat you like Hanson did.' He added vehemently, making her blush.

'Ok, thank you both. One last question, before we're done. Have either of you ever been sexually assaulted or abused?'

Jack was startled by the question, but downright frightened by Carter's reaction. She gasped and then froze, staring at Leyna with what looked like panic.

'Carter? You ok?' He asked. Her gaze skittered over to him.

'Yes sir, I'm fine.'

He studied her for a moment, and then turned to Leyna. 'Any chance we could have this conversation in private?'

Leyna looked hard at them both, and then nodded, frowning. 'We will take a short break, and then I will return and will expect a short report of what you have told each other.'

Jack blew out a breath. 'Thank you.' He watched Leyna as she stood and left the room, and then when they were alone, turned back to Sam.

'Sam, I'm going to ask again. Are you ok?'

Sam rubbed her forehead, looking pained. 'I was just startled by the question.'

'Yeah, you and me both.' He sighed. 'Want me to go first?'

She looked up at him sharply. 'Ok.'

'The guards did stuff in that Iraqi prison. Part of the 'dehumanising me' M.O. Spent a lot more time than I was comfortable with talking to shrinks when I got back. Took six months before I got back to a place where I could … you know. With Sara.'

Sam looked horrified, and reached out to take his hand on impulse. 'That's awful. I'm sorry.'

He squeezed her hand and smiled a little. 'It was a long time ago. I'm over it.'

Sam nodded, withdrawing her hand. She laced her fingers together and started twisting them nervously.

'Jonas …' Jack tensed in anger at the name, '… forced me, a couple of times. Both times he was drunk, and mad at me for doing something without asking him.'

Jack saw red, and started a slow ten count to calm down. Sam didn't need his anger.

Sam however, knew him too well to be fooled. 'Don't fly off the handle, Jack. He's dead, and it was years ago.'

Her use of his first name took the edge off of the anger, and he took some deep breaths.

'Death is too good for him.' He muttered darkly.

They sat in silence for a while, Jack stewing and Sam completely at a loss for what to say.

'Can I ask you something?' Jack said suddenly.

'Ok.' Sam said warily.

'When you gave him the ring back, what did he do?'

'Oh. Well, I was a little worried about how he would react, so I did it in a public place. He didn't take it well, he got mad and shouted, then changed to being upset and begging me to reconsider, but he didn't do anything … you know, _bad._ '

'Ok. Good.'

'Look, Colonel … I hope this doesn't make you think less of me, either as an air force officer or as a person. This was all so long ago and it was a very complex relationship and I wouldn't want you to think…' she stopped when Jack waved his hand to cut her off.

'No, Carter, how can you think that? I'd never think less of you, and least of all because of what some slimy, manipulative, inhuman, cowardly, ass-wipe of toe-rag did.'

She smiled. 'Good.'

Jack sighed. 'Ok, can I ask you something else?'

The smile vanished. 'What?'

'Is that the only time? That you've been … you know.'

'Yes. God, yes I swear that's it.'

'Cos, I've always been concerned that more happened with Turgan on the Shavadai planet than you let on.'

Sam rolled her eyes. 'For the thousandth time Colonel, Turgan didn't do anything worse than kiss me.'

'You're sure? Because now would be the time to tell me.'

'I just told you that Jonas raped me twice. Do you really think that after admitting to that, I'd lie to you about Turgan?'

'Maybe. Turgan was more recent. I knew you when Turgan happened. I was there, hell, I was responsible for your safety.'

'I promise, sir. Turgan didn't touch me, other than that one forced kiss.'

'And there's nothing else you want to tell me?'

'No.'

'Ok. Well, I've got to admit I'm relieved.' Jack sat back and let out a long, slow breath.

Sam looked a little pissed. 'Good for you.'

'Don't be like that, Sam. I was only worried about your wellbeing.'

'I can't believe you didn't trust me to tell you the truth.'

'Really? It was right at the beginning of SG-1. We didn't know each other that well, and you were still falling over yourself to prove you were just as tough as the guys. Would you _honestly_ have told me if something had happened?'

Sam didn't answer.

'Yeah, that's what I thought.'

'I'd tell you now though.'

'Well … good. I'm glad.'

* * *

When Jack got back an hour later to the cabin, he walked straight past the guys, ignoring Daniel's questions completely, and collapsed face down on his bed.

'Jack? Did you hear me? How did it go?'

 _Damn it, he followed me._

'It was fine. I'm going to sleep.' He said into his pillow.

'Is Sam ok?'

'She's fine. Go away Daniel.'

'But … what happened? It was the first marriage rite, wasn't it? What was it like? Did you pass the fertility test?'

Jack groaned and sat up. 'Did you honestly just ask me if I'm _fertile_?'

'Well … considering that if you're not this whole plan goes up in smoke … yes.'

'The little O'Neill's are just fine, thank you very much.' He snarked.

'That's great. So what was the first rite?'

Jack scrubbed a hand over his face and decided that Daniel wasn't going to give up.

'It was just a nice, long, embarrassing chat. We had to talk about our pasts. That's it.'

'Really? Still, I guess there isn't much you guys don't already know about each other, so it can't have been that bad.'

'Oh, it was bad. Leyna had a shopping list of _very_ personal questions.'

'Like what?'

Jack glared at him and said nothing.

'You don't want to tell me. Okay, that's fair. I guess I'll, er, let you sleep.' Daniel turned to leave, but then stopped in the doorway. 'Oh! Did they tell you what the rest of the rites are going to be?'

'Nope.'

'That's a shame. I wonder why they're keeping it a secret?'

'I don't know, Daniel. Now will you please leave me alone?' He snapped, his patience completely drained.

'Sure. Goodnight.'

'Night.'


	7. Chapter 7

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 7  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: None

* * *

The following morning found Sam learning to build the local equivalent of a radio with Lilia. The technology class had been split into pairs, and Lilia had at once assigned herself to Sam, which the older woman found rather touching.

After the class, when Lilia stayed with Sam to take a walk around the temple gardens, Sam noticed an unusual spring in the young Yantaran's step.

'You seem very cheerful today.' Sam commented.

'Oh. Do I? I expect it's just the weather.' Lilia said in a rush.

Sam squinted sceptically at the sky. The weather had been constant sunshine and soft breezes the entire time she had been on Yantar.

'Maybe, but I suspect there's something else.' Sam teased. 'Go on, you can tell me.'

Lilia stopped walking, and looked a little scared. 'You'll think I'm a monster.'

Sam frowned. 'I seriously doubt that. What is it?'

'My betrothed has fallen ill. Not seriously ill, he will recover, but my wedding will be delayed as a result.'

Understanding bloomed in Sam's expression. 'Well, it's only natural for you to be nervous about marrying someone you don't know.'

'No, it's not. What is natural is for a girl to be excited to do her duty, marry a boy, and bring forth as many babies as she is able.'

Sam felt a little sick. 'Lilia … you know I come from another planet, with customs quite different from those here on Yantar?'

Lilia nodded.

'Well, where I come from, girls don't have to get married at all, let alone to someone they've never met, against their will. What I'm trying to say is, if you don't want to get married like this, I understand that. I'd feel the same, in your position.'

Lilia looked scandalised. 'But I can't feel like that. It's against everything we are taught to believe.'

'In my experience what you know you should feel and what you feel in your heart can be two very separate things.'

'My teachers say that a wife's heart always learns to love the husband she is given, in time.'

'I don't think that's true. Love doesn't always work that way. And you certainly can't choose who you fall in love with. Trust me, I know.'

'How do you know?'

Sam sighed, looking at the young girl in indecision, before finding a seat on a nearby bench and gesturing for Lilia to join her.

'I know because I fell in love with someone I'm not allowed to be with.'

Lilia's mouth opened in a little 'o' of surprise. 'You mean because you have to marry Colonel O'Neill, instead of the person you love?'

Sam frowned, not sure how, or even if, to answer that. 'That's … not exactly what I mean, but it doesn't matter. The point is, I didn't choose to fall in love with this person, and my life would be a lot easier if I wasn't in love with him. But I don't get to decide who I love. Do you understand?'

Lilia nodded. 'I do.'

Sam was about to speak again, when Lilia startled her by continuing. 'I too am in love with someone I can never be with.'

Suddenly it all made sense. 'Oh Lilia. You've fallen in love with someone but you're being forced to marry someone else.'

'Yes.'

'But, I thought you were allowed to choose your own husband, if you wanted. Why can't you marry the boy you love?'

Lilia started to cry. 'I just can't.' She jumped up and ran away in the direction of the temple, leaving Sam to stare after, feeling disturbed.

* * *

That evening Sam described her encounter with Lilia to the colonel while they waited for Leyna's arrival.

'That sucks.' Jack agreed.

'I don't know what to do about it. I get the feeling there's more to it than Lilia is telling me, and I'm worried if I appeal to Leyna about it I'll get Lilia in trouble.'

'Carter, there's nothing you _can_ do about it. Need I remind you that if we had any influence over this planet's marriage rules we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place?'

'I can't just do nothing. What they're doing to this girl is wrong. You should meet her, sir, she reminds me so much of Cassie.'

'But she's not Cassie. Don't go getting emotionally involved when there's not a damn thing we can do to help her.'

Sam glared at him, refusing to believe it.

'Don't look at me like that. You know I'd help if I could.'

'You're not the one who has to live in here with these kids. They're all so _young._ '

'I know.'

Sam kicked her feet back against the wall, frustrated.

'Hey, Carter?' Jack said suddenly.

'Yes sir?'

'Well, firstly, didn't we agree you'd drop the sir?'

'Sorry. But you did call me Carter.' She pointed out.

Jack waved his hands. 'Fine, sorry, won't happen again. But I was thinking … everyone here's married, right? I mean, the whole society is just couples, one man one woman?'

'For the most part. Occasionally the numbers of each gender become disparate enough that a man or woman has to take more than one wife or husband.'

'Ok. But, where are all the … you know, homosexuals?'

'Well, I'm assuming it would be a taboo, given their reproductive problems and marriage laws. I expect no one here ever admits to being homosexual.'

Jack just stared at her, eyebrows raised. Suddenly Sam saw what he was trying to say.

'You think Lilia is a lesbian?'

'Could be. It would explain her reluctance to get married.'

'No, she said the reason she didn't want to get married is that she's in love with another boy. One she couldn't be with.'

'Did she say _boy?_ Or did she say person?'

Sam thought back. 'I'm not sure.'

Jack cocked his head. 'Just a theory.'

'Yeah. Even if it's not true of Lilia, it must make a lot of people very unhappy.'

* * *

Leyna eventually appeared and led them, to Sam's surprise and horror, to the temple kitchens. They were empty at this hour, and Leyna had set out ingredients and cooking equipment clearly intended for a dinner for two.

'Our previous session was about sharing the past. This session, is about sharing the present. Tomorrow's session will be about sharing the future.' Leyna said.

'Today's session is one of the most enjoyable. To begin with, you will cook a meal together with the food I have laid out for you, and then eat together as you would do in your home as husband and wife.'

'To 'begin with'? What comes after?' Jack asked.

'That will depend on how the meal goes. It will be an activity designed to help you complete the session to my satisfaction.' Leyna said.

She gestured for them to begin. 'Unless you require instruction in how to cook the meal, I will remain seated by the door, as an observer only.'

Sam was about to accept the offer of instruction, but Jack cut in. 'I'm sure we can figure it out, right Sam?' She looked at him in alarm, but Leyna retreated to the chair by the door.

'You know I can't cook, right?' Sam muttered to Jack as he began sorting through the meat and vegetables.

'Oh I am well aware, Major. I'm head chef, your job is to follow orders.'

Sam grinned. 'Yes sir.'

Considering they were unfamiliar with pretty much all of the ingredients provided, Sam thought Jack did an astounding job with the meal. Within half an hour, he had the kitchen full of a delicious scent of stir-fried meat and vegetables. He kept her looking busy too, muttering instructions to her in an undertone, hoping to keep the one-sided nature of the cooking from Leyna's notice.

Sam set the small table in the corner of the kitchen, and as an afterthought added two candles, lighting them from the stove. When Jack raised his eyebrows at that gesture, she jerked her head in Leyna's direction, mouthing 'for her benefit'.

They sat down to eat, and over dinner Jack told Sam how the trade negotiations were going. Daniel had been lamenting Sam's absence – it had become apparent that the Yantarans possessed some quite interesting technology, but without Sam there Daniel was having a hard time discerning precisely what would be most valuable to Earth.

The meal went a long way towards easing Sam's mind about the marriage rites as a whole. When Jack had suggested that they would be best approaching the situation as friends, she had harboured some serious doubts that they could pull it off, certain that either their military ranks would make their interactions stilted and awkward, or that their mutual but unacknowledged feelings for each other would make the whole thing blow up in their faces. Over dinner though, talking to Jack felt like talking to a best friend. It was easy, and fun.

When they had finished eating, Leyna came over with a warm smile. 'If you are finished with your meal, I would like you to take a walk through the temple gardens together.'

'How are we doing so far?' Jack asked.

'You are doing very well, I am pleased. Come.'

They followed Leyna out to the gardens. The older woman wrapped a shawl around Sam's shoulders for warmth, then took Sam's hand and firmly tucked it into the crook of Jack's arm. Sam was very glad that the evening darkness hid her blushing cheeks. 'Please, take a walk through the gardens. I will wait here for you, but don't come back too soon.'

Jack caught Sam's eye and shrugged, and they started their stroll away from Leyna.

'So, this rite is basically the date night, right?' Jack said after a while of walking in silence.

'Dinner and a moonlit walk? Yeah, that sounds about right.' Sam agreed.

'You don't think …' Jack trailed off.

Sam looked up at him, eyebrow raised.

'Well, I mean, what typically happens at the end of a date?'

Sam's pulse quickened and her hand gripped Jack's arm a little tighter. 'You don't think she's going to want us to … kiss goodnight?'

'I don't know.'

'This isn't Earth, though. Just because that's how dates end in our culture, it doesn't mean that's what will be expected of us here.'

Jack sighed. Sam looked at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

'S – Jack?' She winced at the trip over the automatic 'Sir'.

'Look, Carter, to be honest I'm a bit worried about how far they're going to make us go.'

Sam stopped walking – they were well out of Leyna's sight by now – and turned to look him in the eye.

'Yeah, me too. There are seven rites, the eighth day being the actual marriage, which means we have five more rites to go. If day two is date night …'

'Then this could get a lot more awkward before we reach the finish line.'

Sam nodded and looked down at her sandal-clad feet. 'What do we do?'

Jack's hand landed softly on her shoulder, and he pulled her back into his side as they resumed walking. 'The situation hasn't changed. The only way to get you out of here is to go through with this. We're too far from the gate for a safe escape or rescue, and the trade negotiations are going well. If we follow this through to the end, we all go home, with a new ally and trade partner to boot.'

'So we may end up having to throw the air force regulations in the fire, and there's nothing we can do about it.' Sam said softly.

'Sam, you know I won't do anything you're not a hundred percent comfortable with, right?'

'I know.'

'I'm not Jonas Hansen.'

'I _know._ '

'It's just … we may have to cross some lines. Which means we need to start working our way up to being okay with that.'

'It's not necessarily the crossing of lines that I'm going to have a problem with.' Sam admitted.

'What do you mean?'

'What I'm worried about is what happens afterwards, when we go home.'

'Hammond won't court martial us for this, we don't have any choice.'

Sam shook her head. 'I know that, but what I'm worried about is us.' She stopped walking again and looked at him.

'After we cross all those lines, how do we go back to being just …' she waved her hands in the air between them.

Jack caught her hands and stepped closer to her, invading her personal space. 'We cross that bridge when we come to it. I can't promise you what things are going to be like between us when we get back, we can't know that until we finish this. But I can promise you I'll do everything I can to protect your career.'

Sam let out a deep breath. 'I appreciate that.'

She shivered in the chill air, and Jack wrapped his arm around her shoulders. 'Come on, let's get this one over with.'

They finished the walk in silence. As they rounded the last corner and came back in sight of Leyna, Sam felt Jack's arm tense around her shoulders, as though he was fighting the urge to move it now that someone could see them. It felt very peculiar to go from having to hide any outward signs of their feelings, to having to display them openly.

'Welcome back, Colonel, Samantha. Colonel, please bid Samantha goodnight with a kiss, and then you may leave for the evening.'

Jack's hand gripped Sam's shoulder more tightly for a moment before he moved his arm and turned to face her. Sam met his eyes with a nervous resolve. _Here we go._

He stepped closer to her, and his hands drifted up to cup her face. His eyes never left hers, and she could tell he was looking for any sign of hesitation on her part, constantly checking that what he was doing was ok. She tried to keep her own gaze calm and certain, and let her hands wander up to his waist.

Jack's hands tilted her face upwards, and his own face bent down to meet hers. An inch of space was left between them as he breathed: 'Ready?'

She nodded.

His lips met hers, soft and gentle. For the first moment she just let him kiss her, breathless, and then her hands tightened around his waist, she leant forward into him, and kissed back, still softly but with a passion that surprised her. Jack made a sound low in his throat and after a long, glorious moment of indulgence pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. They breathed the same air for a few heartbeats before Jack pulled away completely.

Leyna was beaming.

'Well done. You should know I will be making a _very_ favourable report on your progress to Vaya Maroa in the morning.'

'Great.' Jack muttered.

'Come Colonel, I will show you out.'

Jack cast a last, complicated look back in Sam's direction, before following their host/captor/teacher to the door.

Sam closed her eyes, and tried not to cry.


	8. Chapter 8

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 8  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: None

* * *

The following morning at breakfast, Daniel was determined to get Jack to talk. The older man had not said a word the previous evening, walking straight into his room and sitting with his back against the door, preventing Daniel from following.

He saw the warning looks Teal'c was giving him, but would not be deterred. He reasoned that if Jack was this moody, Sam might be similarly upset, and he was worried for his friend whom he hadn't seen in days.

'So, what was last night's rite?' He started brightly, deciding to jump right in without beating around the bush.

Jack glowered at him. 'Can't I eat my breakfast in peace?'

'I left you in peace last night.' Daniel countered.

'Because I made you.'

'Right. So what was last night's rite?'

'Daniel, will you just leave it alone?'

'No.' Daniel felt his ire rising. 'No, I won't. We're on a mission and Teal'c and I deserve to know whether our team mates are ok.'

Jack sighed, and sat back from his breakfast.

'Teal'c?' Daniel prompted, looking for support.

Teal'c inclined his head towards Daniel. 'O'Neill, Daniel Jackson's point is sound. We are most effective as a team when we have all of the information. We are also worried for Major Carter's wellbeing.'

Jack nodded, chastened. 'Yeah, ok. Point taken.'

'Last night's rite was called 'Sharing the present'. It's a set of three, the first one was sharing the past, this one was sharing the present, and tonight's will be sharing the future. Last night's was fairly harmless, we just had to cook dinner and take a stroll in the gardens.'

'If it was harmless why are you in such a mood?' Daniel asked.

Jack was silent for a moment, and Daniel could tell he was considering whether to be honest or just to brush him off again.

'They made us kiss, at the end.'

Daniel breathed in sharply. 'Oh.'

'You are concerned about the effect these marriage rites will have on your working relationship with Major Carter.' Teal'c observed.

'Yeah, you could say that.'

'Is Sam ok?' Daniel asked.

Jack shrugged. 'About as ok as I am, I guess. She's worried about the effect this is going to have on us, too.'

'Do you know how far they're going to make you go? I mean, you're not going to have to … _sleep together_ , are you?' Daniel asked.

'I don't know.' Jack answered honestly. 'But the fact that they had us kissing on day two has us both worried about that.'

Daniel watched Jack for a moment, deeply concerned for both his friends. 'Did they at least tell you what the 'Sharing the future' rite is going to entail?'

'No. I asked Leyna on the way out last night, and she said it's traditional that we not know what the rites are going to be ahead of time. It makes us respond more naturally, apparently.'

'I guess if you don't know what to expect you can't prepare what to do or how to act, so your responses are more organic.' Daniel mused.

'O'Neill, may I have a word with you outside?' Teal'c asked. Jack stood to follow Teal'c from the crowded meal hall and out into the relative privacy of the cool morning breeze, and Daniel followed too. Teal'c made no comment at Daniel's presence, no doubt having expected it.

'What is it, T?' Jack asked.

'O'Neill. You are my brother. I would gladly die for you in the field of battle. However, Samantha Carter is my sister, and her fate is presently in your hands. I am honour bound to warn you, that if you hurt her, the hurt I will cause you will make you wish for death.'

Daniel stared, open-mouthed, at Teal'c, who in turn was staring intently at Jack. His expression wasn't menacing, exactly, but it was deadly serious.

'You know I'd rather die than hurt her.' Jack said quietly after a few moments of silence.

Teal'c bowed his head in acknowledgement, content that that was the truth.

'I just wish we could see her.' Daniel said. 'Not that I don't trust you to watch out for her, Jack, but I really want to see that she's ok for myself. Plus, I could really use her opinion on some of the technology we're trying to trade for.'

'I'll ask Leyna, but I wouldn't hold your breath.' Jack said. 'They seem pretty strict on cloistering the brides-to-be in that place.'

'Well, maybe you can pass her a message, then. If I write her a letter, can you give it to her tonight and bring me back her response?' Daniel asked.

Jack nodded. 'I'll see what I can do.'

* * *

Sam was pre-occupied in the tech classes that morning, but she was determined to find Lilia at some point during the day. She felt awful for the way their conversation had ended the day before, with the twenty year old girl running away in tears, and she wanted to make sure she was alright.

Unfortunately though, her search was fruitless, and when she eventually enquired with the stewards, she was told Lilia was spending the day at her husband-to-be's bedside at the hospital.

This left Sam with little to occupy her mind, or rather with little to distract her mind from thoughts of the previous night's ending. The kiss was everything she had both hoped and feared it would be. It was perfect, and it confirmed to her that the feelings she had harboured for Jack for the past few years were real, and reciprocated.

By late afternoon she was growing antsy, anxious about what this evening's rite would bring. She wasn't expecting to be extracted from the tech workshop before time, by Leyna. The elder woman led her to a part of the temple she had only seen when she first arrived days earlier – the areas open to the public, separate from the girls' accommodations, classrooms, and the rooms used for the marriage rituals.

Her trepidation was quickly alleviated though, when Leyna opened the door of a small side-chamber to reveal Daniel and Teal'c.

'Hey!' She exclaimed, and was hugging Daniel before Leyna had even closed the door behind her as she left.

'Hey yourself.' Daniel said, with his head tucked down on Sam's shoulder in the hug. He pulled back and looked her up and down. 'Nice outfit. Are you ok?'

Sam smiled self-consciously, reminded again of the costume's gap around her belly that she had gotten used to over the last couple of days.

'I'm fine.'

Teal'c took her shoulders in his large hands and scrutinised her himself. 'Are you certain?'

She wavered. It was hard to be less than completely honest when the large jaffa's dark gaze held that much concern for her.

'It hasn't been that bad yet.' She qualified. 'I assume the colonel's told you about the two rites we've done so far.'

'He said he had to kiss you.' Daniel said. Sam winced and looked at the floor.

'Yeah, there was that.'

'Are you sure you're doing ok with all of this?'

Sam shrugged and lifted her hands to gesture around her uselessly. 'I'm being held prisoner and I'm being forced to get married by way of some deeply personal rituals with my commanding officer. I think under the circumstances I'm holding up fantastically well.'

'You're not really answering the question.' Daniel observed gently.

'What do you want me to say, Daniel?'

'I don't know … that you're going to be ok. That you're not going to come out of this emotionally traumatised. That Jack's being as supportive and … and _tactful_ as he can be.'

'Well, yes, to all of the above. I'm going to be fine, and Jack's being great.' She saw realisation dawn in both of their faces as they registered her use of her commanding officer's first name, and kicked herself for being careless.

'Look, Sam, I know this has got to be tough, doing this with Jack given the thing between you two …' Daniel started.

Sam held up a hand and cut him off. 'There's no _thing_. We're fine. It's been a little bit awkward at times, but we agreed to just treat each other as friends rather than anything else for the duration of this exercise, so that we can get through it all in one piece without ruining our working relationship.'

'It may be easier for you both to deal with this situation if you admit your feelings for each other.' Teal'c said kindly.

Sam didn't know what to say to such bluntness. They _never_ talked about the feelings between her and Jack. Ever.

Daniel looked a little startled too. 'I don't know, dealing with it as friends sounds like a pretty sensible plan to me. It sets up some boundaries, so you can more easily go back to a working relationship afterwards.'

'Look, guys, I really don't want to talk about this. I'm dealing with it the best I can, and that's all I can say about it.'

She looked at them until they both nodded in acquiescence, and she took a deep breath in relief.

'Daniel, the colonel said you had some questions for me about the technology part of the trade negotiations?' She prompted.

Daniel launched into a description of the technology on offer, and Sam listened with half an ear, but her eyes drifted to Teal'c and she could have cried at the expression on his face. _Yeah Teal'c, I know. I am so screwed._


	9. Chapter 9

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 9  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Tiny teeny bit of physical intimacy. Not what you're thinking. Barely worth even mentioning.

* * *

That evening, after Daniel and Teal'c had long since left, Jack arrived and was met immediately by Leyna who led him to the same area of the temple where the fertility tests had been carried out. He was immediately on edge, remembering what had been done to Sam here and her reaction to it. The room into which Leyna led him was one he hadn't seen before, huge and full of technicians buzzing around medical equipment and machines he couldn't identify, and Sam standing out starkly in her red sari against the white of the room, equipment, and technician's uniforms.

A quick and silent conversation with their eyes told him that she was ok but just as freaked out as he was.

'What's all this for?' Jack asked.

'Tonight's rite is called 'Sharing the future'. This equipment will be needed to help you experience one such possible future.' Leyna explained.

Jack saw the expression on Sam's face go from nervous to fascinated in the space of a second. 'So it's like a virtual reality set up?' She asked. 'You can hook us up to these devices and we'll experience an imagined possible future?'

'Exactly. The scenario you will experience will be led by the machine, but will draw from your own experience and expectations, in order that the scenario feels as real as possible to you.'

'I'd love to know how it works.' Sam said, circling the tall, white device attached to the nearest hospital bed.

'Perhaps another time.' Leyna said kindly. 'Now, we must begin.'

'Will you be in there with us?' Jack asked.

'No. I will monitor from here.' Leyna indicated a screen to the side. 'I will not be able to see what you see, but from the code that will appear on this screen I can monitor your progress in the simulation.'

'This is the technology Daniel is trying to trade for.' Sam said excitedly to Jack. 'The potential practical applications for the SGC are incredible. Getting a demonstration of how it works like this could be invaluable.'

'I'm positively giddy with excitement.' Jack said sarcastically, and then regretted it when Sam's expression dropped from the kid-in-a-candy-store look back to nervousness. He tried to give her a reassuring smile to make up for it. 'Come on Alice, let's jump down the rabbit hole.'

He let the technicians usher him onto one of the gurneys, and they began attaching electrodes to his forehead and temples.

'How long will we be in there?' Sam asked.

'No more than an hour.' Leyna answered. 'You may experience several different scenarios, but time should pass at the same rate in the simulation as it would in reality.'

'So much for time being 'relative', eh Carter?' Jack joked. She grinned at him from her own gurney, albeit tempered with an edge of nervousness.

'Please lie back and close your eyes.' The female technician at his side asked quietly.

Jack closed his eyes, and his mind swam with sudden disorientation, feeling as though his body was falling even as he gripped the sides of the gurney.

Then, suddenly, he was somewhere else entirely.

He was standing in his own backyard on a sunny summer afternoon. Every detail of his surroundings was perfect, from the ragged edge of the porch step he'd been meaning to fix, to the way the wind ruffled his hair and shirt. He knew he was lying on a gurney on an alien world, but he was _here_ , in his backyard.

In front of him were the remnants of a barbecue meal, used crockery and leftover food laid out on his yard furniture. But it wasn't quite right, there were too many plates, and one he'd never seen before patterned with pink princesses and flowers, with a matching cup.

'This is your house.' Sam's voice came from behind him, and he turned to her, only for his jaw to drop in shock. She was pregnant – very, very pregnant.

Prompted by the direction of his gaze, Sam looked down at her belly and gasped, hands jumping to it as if to check it was real. Her hair was long, a blonde braid falling over her left shoulder. She was wearing jeans with an elasticated waistband, a white tank top, and a loose blue shirt over the top, her pregnancy-rounded belly protruding from the shirt.

'Oh my God.' She breathed.

'Daddy! I found a spider!' A little voice jarred into the moment, seconds before a girl who couldn't have been older than five ran from the house, blonde hair flying behind her.

She stopped in front of him and Jack knelt to meet her eye level. 'Where?' He asked. _Hannah. Her name is Hannah. How do I know that?_

'In the bathroom. Come on, I'll show you!' She tugged his hand and he let himself be dragged into the house. His mind felt fuzzy, as though he'd forgotten something important. Wasn't he just somewhere else? No. No, they'd been having a barbecue. Just himself, Sam, and Hannah. Little Hannah who was scared of spiders but had spent all afternoon trying to dig up worms in the flower bed behind her mother's back.

'I'll get a glass to catch it.' Sam called from behind him, sounding a little uncertain.

The spider duly pointed out by the five year-old, Sam appeared in the bathroom doorway and handed over a glass and a bit of paper for Jack to catch it with. He met her eyes with a smile when she handed the items over, and she grinned at him. It felt right. _Why wouldn't it?_

The spider was released in the backyard, and Jack lifted Hannah to spin her round, the little girl laughing and squealing in delight. Sam laughed and told him to be careful not to make her daughter sick.

Hannah ran over to the playhouse Jack had built two years earlier, and he lifted an arm to pull Sam close, pressing a kiss to her forehead. His other hand went to rest on her rounded belly, and Sam hummed happily as she leaned into him.

'Weren't we just … somewhere else?' Sam asked uncertainly, after a moment.

'I don't know, I can't remember.' Jack said, feeling a little vague. He squeezed her tighter. 'As long as you're here, I don't care.'

Sam smiled, looking up at him through her lashes. 'I love you.'

Jack leaned down for a long, lingering kiss, and then grinned at her. 'Love you too.'

And then that feeling of disorientation, falling …

* * *

Sam screamed.

Jack's hands gripped her shoulders; she was propped up against him in a hospital bed, body tensed against the most incredible pain, a midwife framed between her bent knees telling her to push.

'Come on Carter, you can do it.' Jack's voice in her ear was soft, commanding, comforting.

A final, awful pain, and then relief, a baby's cry filling the room indignantly.

'Congratulations, it's a boy.' The midwife said, and then before she knew it Sam's arms were full of baby, a tiny, vulnerable, pink thing, face scrunched up against the world.

'I'm so proud of you.' Jack whispered in her ear, kissing her temple.

Falling, falling …

* * *

Sam lay in Jack's arms in their bed. She stretched languidly, enjoying the knowledge that it was Sunday. Jack's arm tightened around her waist in response to her movement, and he tugged her closer still, burying his face in her hair.

'Morning.'

'Morning.' She smiled against his chest, inhaling the scent that was uniquely Jack. 'How long do you think we've got?'

'I don't want to know. Let's stay here this morning.'

'I think our children may object to that plan.'

'They can make their own pancakes.' Jack grumbled.

'Jack!' She batted his chest reproachfully.

'Ten more minutes.'

He moved his hand to cup her face and kissed her, slowly, languidly. His hand travelled down her neck, her collar bone, and then rested over her breast, squeezing gently. Sam groaned and hooked her leg over his hip, pulling him closer as the kiss became more passionate.

'Make it twenty.' She said breathlessly.

Falling, falling …

* * *

'Give your sister a hug goodbye.' Jack said, and the brown-haired ten year old boy reluctantly reached up to hug his sister.

'Bye Hannah.'

'Bye Michael.'

'My turn.' Jack said, and gathered his daughter into his arms. 'Be good. Don't study too hard. No partying.' He said gruffly.

Hannah chuckled. 'Yes Dad.'

She pulled away and turned to her mother. Sam was almost in tears as she pulled Hannah close.

'I'm going to miss you so much.' She said. 'Call if you need anything, anytime.'

'I will.'

'Can't believe you're old enough to be going to college.' Jack said.

'Technically I'm not.' Hannah said with a grin.

'This is what I get for marrying a genius.' Jack griped. 'Genius kids.' He ruffled his son's hair affectionately, to which Michael protested loudly.

'Dad!'

Falling, falling …

* * *

Jack looked at Sam from across the waiting room, both of them bone-tired but too anxious to sleep. 'Shouldn't something have happened by now?'

'Not necessarily.' Sam replied. 'It's their first, it could take a while. Remember when Hannah was born?'

'Oy.' Jack winced at the memory. 'Where is Hannah anyway?'

'She's on her way. She had some things to finish up before she could leave the SGC.'

Jack rested his white-haired head back against the wall and sighed. 'I'm too young to be a grandfather.'

Sam snorted inelegantly.

He glared at her. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

She stood gracefully and came to settle herself on the seat next to him, kissing him gently and then wrapping herself in his arms.

'Michael will be a great father, don't you think?' She said fondly.

'Yeah. He will.'

Falling, falling, falling …

* * *

Sam took a sudden deep breath, as though she'd been holding it. She blinked her eyes against the harsh white light of the lab, and tried to remember where she was.

'The first few moments can be a little disorienting, please take your time.' A woman's voice said.

 _Leyna_. Sam thought. The thought didn't match her more immediate memories of her grown up children Hannah and Michael, and their white-haired father, and it was jarring. _Jack._

She looked to her right, and found forty-something, grey-haired Jack staring at her intently.

 _Jack._


	10. Chapter 10

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 10  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Curse word

* * *

After they had woken up fully from the simulation, Leyna had offered some pleased comments about their performance and had shown Jack out of the temple. He found himself walking back to his accommodations with little memory of what Leyna had said specifically. He knew neither he nor Sam had spoken, both too absorbed in the memories they'd been given in the simulation.

His feet took him to the cabin, and he opened the door, still feeling very displaced. He stood on the threshold for a moment, looking at Daniel and Teal'c with a vague feeling that he should probably get to his bed quickly, but not completely sure why.

'Jack? Are you ok? What happened?' Daniel asked.

 _Oh yeah. That's why._

He shut the door behind him and flopped down in an armchair, resting his head back and closing his eyes.

'Just wait a minute, Daniel. I'm still waking up.'

There was a beat of silence, and then: 'What?'

'One minute, Daniel, one _minute_.'

This time there was, blessedly, obedience from Daniel, and Jack took the time to try and organise his mind. He knew the visions he'd had of Sam and their son and daughter weren't real, that they'd been nothing more than induced shared hallucinations, but it was hard to reconcile. While he'd been having them, the hallucinations had felt exactly like reality. It took an effort of will to remind himself that Sam – that _Carter_ – was his second-in-command, and not his wife and the mother of his children.

'O'Neill.' Teal'c said eventually.

Jack opened his eyes and regarded the two men soberly. 'You want to know what happened.' He said. Teal'c inclined his head and Daniel nodded.

He closed his eyes again.

'They've got virtual reality technology.' He said. 'They used that on us to make us have some kind of shared hallucination of various moments throughout a fictional future.'

'Wow.' Daniel said. 'I guess that makes sense, you said this rite was going to be called 'sharing the future' …?'

'Yeah.'

'What did you see?'

'It wasn't 'seeing', it was … living it. It felt real. When I was in the simulation, apart from a few moments right at the beginning, I didn't know it was a simulation, I thought it was actually happening.'

'Ok, so, what did you … experience?' Daniel asked again.

Jack took a deep breath.

'A life with Carter, with kids. At various points over the next twenty or so years.'

He opened his eyes and found both Daniel and Teal'c looking at him with some concern.

'Are you ok?' Daniel asked.

Jack considered the question. 'I'm not sure.'

'Is Sam ok?' Daniel tried instead.

Jack couldn't answer. 'I don't know, I didn't speak to her after …'

'What 'moments' did they make you experience?' Daniel asked.

'A bunch of things. First there was a barbecue … our little girl Hannah was five and Sam was heavily pregnant with Michael. Then there was Michael's birth. Then, a random morning, I don't even know when. Then Hannah going to college, and then we were in a hospital waiting room while our first grandchild was being born – Michael's kid.'

'And Sam experienced all of those things with you?' Daniel asked.

'Yeah.'

'She had to give birth?'

'Well, not really, it was a simulation.'

'I know, but … it felt real?'

'Yes.' Jack answered softly, remembering it. Newborn Michael had looked exactly like Charlie had.

'Fucking hell.' Daniel swore.

Jack smirked a little at the uncharacteristic curse. 'She's been through worse.'

'I know, but still …'

'Will you be alright, O'Neill?' Teal'c asked.

Jack sighed. 'Yeah, I'll be fine. It wasn't real.'

Daniel looked at him sympathetically. 'I guess it probably brought back some memories of Charlie for you.'

Jack didn't answer.

'I'm going to bed.'

* * *

Sam didn't go to the technology class scheduled the next morning. She lay under her favourite tree in the gardens, the one with the orange, yellow and pink leaves, listening to the sound of them rustling in the wind. She could vividly picture her children's faces, from each stage of the simulation.

She couldn't stop picturing them.

Lilia found her towards the middle of the day, and then lay back beside her, in silence.

Sam turned her head to look at the girl. 'Hi.'

'Hello.'

She forced her mind away from the memories of the previous evening, and back to Lilia and her more tangible circumstances.

'How is your husband-to-be?'

'He is recovering well. The marriage rituals will likely begin next week.'

Sam looked at the girl with sympathy. 'Is there no way you can be with the person you love instead?'

Lilia closed her eyes. 'No.'

Sam took her hand. 'I'm sorry.'

'As am I.'

After a few minutes, Lilia got up and walked away. Sam folded her arms over her stomach, hugging herself in frustration, wishing she could have thought of something better to say, to help the girl.

* * *

Jack went to the temple early that day, before the evening meal was finished, hoping to get the chance to talk to Sam before the start of the next rite, whatever that would turn out to be.

In the public foyer he asked an attendant to find Leyna, and once summoned, the older woman reluctantly agreed to grant them the time.

He was taken out to the gardens, and after a moment Sam was extracted from the evening meal and sent to join him. He looked at her carefully, trying to gauge her mood – she looked okay, if a little tired.

'Sir?' She said.

He winced internally. 'I thought we agreed it was Jack.' He said.

She looked at the floor. 'Sorry.' He guessed it was a defence mechanism, reverting to the 'Sir', and felt like a tool for calling her on it.

'You ok?'

Sam shrugged and met his eyes. 'I guess. You?'

'I thought we should probably talk.' He said, in lieu of answering the question.

Sam nodded, and didn't say anything.

'It wasn't real.' Jack said.

'I know.' Sam said quietly.

'I know it felt real, but … it wasn't.'

'I know that.'

'Daniel's worried about you.' Jack said after a moment of awkward silence. 'He was pretty outraged that they made you experience childbirth. He used the F word.'

Sam chuckled dryly. 'Wow. He must really be pissed.'

'I'm pretty pissed off too.'

'Yeah. So am I.'

'What was even the point of it?' Jack asked.

'I don't know. Maybe they wanted to make us want it.'

Jack scowled at the ground. 'By messing with our heads.'

Sam shrugged. 'When it's done to two twenty year old kids who barely know each other, it probably helps them to commit to each other, and to the idea of trying for a family.'

'So what did it do to us?' Jack asked. Sam looked at him with a sad, lost expression.

 _It did exactly what it was supposed to do._ Jack thought. _That's the problem._

She walked away from him towards a tree by the pond, and arranged herself sitting against its trunk beneath the leaves. He joined her, legs stretched out in front of him and his arm touching hers.

'Michael looked like Charlie.' Jack said after a while. Sam sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, reminding him forcefully of another time she'd done that, the last time their minds and memories had been tinkered with, when Jonah had remembered feeling feelings for Thera.

'Hannah looked like my mom.'

'I thought she looked like you.'

Sam chuckled. 'I guess she probably did.'

Another few minutes passed in silence.

'We're going to be ok.' Jack said. 'We can deal with this.'

Sam looked up at him with those big, sad eyes again. He took her hand and squeezed it.

'Trust me.'


	11. Chapter 11

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 11  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Violence, and reference to torture and sexual assault

* * *

That evening found them back in that same lab with the virtual reality machines. They stood close together, bodies tensed.

'The next two rites are called 'Sharing pain', and 'Sharing pleasure'.' Leyna told them. 'They are for you to share with each other one of the best and worst of your life experiences, moments that have shaped you as a person.'

Jack felt an acute sense of dread. 'That's not a good idea.'

Leyna raised her eyebrows. 'Oh?'

'Some of the things I've been through, no one should have to experience. I won't let you put Carter through that.' He felt Sam shift uneasily beside him, and fought the urge to reach for her hand. She had just yesterday evening learnt what it was like to have a child – the last thing he wanted was for her to experience the pain of losing one.

Leyna smiled and shook her head. 'You misunderstand – it won't be the same as the previous rite, you won't be experiencing the memories, just showing them.'

'Can we control what gets shown?' Jack asked

'No. The simulator will determine which memory to share, you will both only be there to watch. It usually selects memories from each person that have something in common, in order to help you empathise with each other.'

'But … that's such an invasion of our privacy.' Sam protested. 'You're talking about us laying bare the most intensely personal moments of our lives.'

'As husband and wife, you should be familiar with how each other cope with the most painful and wonderful of situations. The road of marriage and parenthood is often littered with such moments, and you will deal with them best if you are familiar with each other's history of those emotions.'

Jack clenched his jaw angrily. 'Do we have a choice?'

'Not if you wish to complete the marriage rituals, no. And my understanding is that if you don't complete the marriage, Samantha will be prosecuted for her crime of failing to marry at the appropriate age.'

Jack stared at her stonily.

'If it is any consolation, the simulator won't necessarily select the very worst moments of your lives – it will select the ones it deems to be most instructive, for the purpose of this ritual.'

 _So it might not show Charlie's death_. Jack thought. He could only hope.

'Let's begin.' Leyna said, and technicians swarmed forwards to guide the pair to their respective gurneys.

Jack caught Sam's eyes before the disorientation took hold, hoping this wouldn't be the disaster he feared it could be.

And then he was falling …

Sam found herself standing in a cell. It was hot, and dark, and she jumped when Jack's hand touched her arm.

'This is my memory.' He told her.

'Iraq?' She asked. He nodded.

'Where are you?' She asked. 'I mean, the 'you' from the memory? We're supposed to just be watching, right?'

Jack looked around. 'I don't know.'

She felt him flinch when the cell door suddenly opened. Two men half carried, half dragged a third. Jack.

Her expression dropped in horror. He was painfully thin, ribs protruding, and so filthy that it was barely noticeable that he was naked. His hair and beard were longer than she had ever seen them.

It was Jack, but not the Jack she knew. She glanced at the man beside her, who looked sickened.

The two men dropped him in a corner, and Jack lay where he fell, unmoving.

Her Jack walked over to the memory-Jack, and crouched beside him. 'God, I look awful.' He commented.

Sam didn't know what to say.

He stood and walked back over to her. Memory-Jack groaned and rolled over, and Sam noticed for the first time the fresh burn mark on his chest. She'd seen the older scar from that injury on her commanding officer's chest. Jack scratched the scar through his clothes with a wince.

'I don't know why they're showing us this moment. Nothing's going to happen, he's just going to lie there.'

Sam shrugged, but then the Jack from the memory spoke. 'Who are you?' He slurred. He was looking directly at Sam.

She looked at the real Jack in shock, who looked equally startled. 'He can see us?'

Jack walked towards his memory-self, but the memory-Jack looked straight through him. He waved his hand in front of his memory-self's face experimentally, with no reaction.

Sam cocked her head. 'I guess he can only see me.' She walked towards the naked, prostrate Jack from the memory and crouched beside him.

'You can see me?' She asked.

'Yeah. You real?'

Sam frowned, considering. 'That's … an interesting question. I'm not sure how to answer.'

The memory-Jack nodded and closed his eyes. 'Thought so.'

Sam's heart broke a little. He sounded defeated, in a way she had never heard before and hoped never to hear again. She took his hand, causing him to open his eyes wide and flinch. 'You're going to be ok.' She told him softly, earnestly.

She watched the words register slowly in his eyes. It looked like he believed her. 'Are you an angel? Am I dead?'

'No. You're not going to die, and you're going to be rescued soon. I promise.'

'Will you be there?' He asked.

'I'm right here.' Sam said.

He sighed. 'Ok.' He went to sleep.

Sam stood, blinking tears out of her eyes, and turned to the real Jack. She couldn't read the expression on his face.

'If you're wondering, I never hallucinated you when this happened for real.' He said after a moment.

'I didn't think so.'

'Wish I had, though.'

She didn't know what to say to that.

The nausea-inducing disorientation hit again, and the scene changed. Sam recognised it immediately. They were standing in the living room of the apartment she had lived in with Jonas, about a decade ago. Her much-younger self sat reading on the sofa, long hair brushed loose and falling around her shoulders, legs tucked up underneath her.

Sam span around and pulled Jack by the arm from the room, towards the front door.

'Carter?'

'I don't want you to see this.' She said tersely. She slammed the apartment's front door behind them, and leant against the wall outside, trying to control her breathing.

'See what? What's going to happen?' Jack asked.

Heavy footsteps thudded up the stairs, and Sam tensed. 'Who's that?' Jack asked.

Jonas Hansen appeared at the top of the stairs a moment later, his expression furious. He stormed towards them, and Sam reflexively moved further away from the door, bumping into Jack, but Jonas couldn't see them and after fumbling with the apartment keys, he let himself in and slammed the door shut even harder than Sam had.

And then he started yelling.

Sam found that she was shaking, and folded her arms to try and control it.

'Sam?' Jack asked gently.

'This is one of those two times I told you about.' Sam told him. Jack swore effusively.

'Can I stop him?' He asked.

Sam shrugged. 'He didn't seem to see you, so I'm guessing not.'

'The other me could see you in the last one.'

'It doesn't matter anyway. It's not happening right now, it happened in the past. He's been dead for over four years.'

'If it doesn't matter, why did you talk to the other me?'

Sam just looked at him. _How could she not have?_

Jack moved towards the apartment door. Sam grabbed his arm to stop him. 'No! I said I don't want you to see it.'

'You can't expect me to just stand here and do nothing.'

'None of this is real! It's all in our heads! You're not just standing here and doing nothing, none of this is even happening!'

'I don't care! I'm not going to just stand out here while he rapes you, even if it _is_ all just a memory!'

'Jack, _please_!' Sam begged.

Jack shook his head, took a few steps back, and then ran at the door, breaking it down. The yelling didn't stop – either the imaginary Jonas hadn't heard, or he didn't care.

Sam followed Jack in, almost as reluctant to see what was happening herself as she was for Jack to see it.

Jonas was holding her younger self against a wall, shouting in her face, one hand at her throat and the other holding her wrists together.

Jack didn't waste time staring. He grabbed Jonas by his shirt and hauled him off of her. He planted his feet, and his fist flew at Jonas' face. There was a sickening crunch of bone breaking, and Jonas dropped unmoving to the floor.

Sam's younger self was clutching her wrist to her chest and staring at Jack in shock. 'Who are you?'

Jack was breathing hard. 'A friend. Are you okay, did he hurt you?' He gestured to her wrist.

She shook her head. She was shaking. Sam herself was too.

'You're going to be ok.' Jack said gently to her younger self, stepping towards her. 'C'mere.' He pulled the younger woman into a gentle hug, and to Sam's surprise her younger self melted into it, as though she knew who Jack was.

The scene dissolved with the now familiar falling sensation, and Sam opened her eyes to find herself back in the stark white lab. The disorientation wasn't nearly so bad this time, she supposed because they had been fully aware it was a simulation the whole time.

The technicians removed the wires connecting her to the device, and she sat up, meeting Jack's eyes.

'I guess that wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.' Jack offered.

Sam gave him a thin smile and nodded.

'That concludes today's rite.' Leyna said. 'Tomorrow will be the same, but you will share good memories instead. I hope this session wasn't too traumatic for you.'

Jack bit back a harsh retort, and nodded stiffly.

'Can we have a moment?' Sam asked Leyna. The older woman inclined her head and gestured to the door.

'Step outside. I will give you a moment before I join you.'

Out in the corridor the door closed behind her with a click, and Sam turned to face Jack nervously.

'So, we're ok?' Jack asked, gesturing between them.

'I think so.' She nodded. 'Thanks for … you know.'

'Always.' He shifted on his feet, uncomfortable. 'And … thanks for talking to … him.'

'Always.' She said back with a smile. He met her eyes and smiled himself, making her feel warm inside.

Before the moment could turn into something awkward, Leyna appeared, and led Jack out.


	12. Chapter 12

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 12  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: None

* * *

Daniel was on him before he even got to the cabin's front door.

'Well? What happened? How's Sam?'

'She's ok.' Jack said, pushing Daniel out of the way so he could enter.

'Just 'She's ok'? _Jack …_ '

'What? She's ok. She's alright. Coping, surviving, whatever …'

'What did this evening's rite entail?' Teal'c asked.

'It was the virtual reality simulator again, only this time we were just observers and we knew it was a simulation the whole time.'

'What did you see?' Daniel asked.

'It was called 'Sharing pain', so we each had a particularly bad memory to share.'

'That sounds awful.' Daniel said, appalled.

'It was and it … wasn't. It could have been a hell of a lot worse. I guess these people aren't completely heartless.'

'Which memory did it use then?' Daniel asked.

Jack stared at him in incredulity. 'Daniel, I'm not telling you that. And I'm not telling you what Carter's was either. It's private.'

To his credit, Daniel looked contrite. 'Sorry, you're right.'

'At least we know tomorrow's rite should be fine. It's the mirror of this one, called 'Sharing pleasure'. Leyna said we'll just be seeing a happy memory each.'

'And then you'll only have two left.'

'Yup. And then we're out of here. Do you think you can wrap up the trade deal by then?'

'I think so. We're almost done now, Sam was a lot of help when I went to talk to her about the technology. We're just haggling over the wording for the process of future amendments to the treaty now.'

'Is there a problem?'

'No, it's fine. I'll be done by your wedding day, don't worry.' Daniel teased.

Jack just glared at him.

* * *

Late that night, while it was still pitch black outside, Sam was shaken awake. She reached for her weapon on reflex, although it had been confiscated when she entered the temple. Lilia was leaning over her.

'Lilia, what's wrong?'

'I need to talk to you.' She whispered.

'Ok.' Sam frowned, and looked around at the sleeping occupants of the room around them. 'Outside?'

Lilia nodded, and tiptoed from the room. Sam followed her out to the main living area, which was dark, empty and silent at this hour.

They settled onto a padded bench, and Sam tucked one leg underneath her as she sat sideways to face Lilia.

'What is it?' She asked.

'You're going home to your world after your wedding, aren't you?' Lilia asked.

'Yes, I am.'

'Could you take me with you?'

Sam's heart broke. 'Oh Lilia. Are you that afraid of getting married?'

The young girl looked close to tears. She nodded.

'Why? Please tell me what's really going on.'

'The boy I have to marry is … well, he doesn't like me. He used to bully me when I was a child. And I love another, his name is Mikah, but he already married last year. His mother made him marry the adjutant's daughter. I haven't seen him in months.'

She started to cry, and Sam pulled her into a hug, stroking her hair and making soothing noises.

'I'm afraid that Ninar, the boy have to marry, will be cruel. He's always hated me. His mother is powerful though and she chose me because she wants to make a business deal with my father, and because I left it too late to pick someone on my own, I had no choice.' She explained in a rush.

'I'm so sorry, that's awful.' Sam said. 'But honey, I don't think they're going to let you go. They won't even let me go at the moment, and you're more valuable to them because you could have children and add to the population in your lifetime.'

'I know.' Lilia sobbed.

'What if I talk to Leyna? I could try and get you out of the marriage, and get them to give you more time to find someone better.'

'It's no use. Leyna only wants me married, she's not going to care if I don't like my betrothed.'

Sam thought for a minute. 'Lilia, my people are in the middle of making a very important trade deal with your government. That means we have some power, some leverage, at the moment. If I use that to help you, what would you want me to ask for? What's the best outcome for you?'

Lilia thought about it. 'I want to marry Mikah. I want to be his second wife.'

'Really? You'd be happy sharing him with another woman?'

'I know his wife, Lola. She was my friend, and she felt really guilty when she had to marry him, she knew how Mikah and I loved each other. It would be fine, I wouldn't mind sharing him with her, if it meant he and I could be together.'

Sam nodded, and took a deep breath. 'Ok, if that's what you want, I'll talk to my people in the morning and we'll see what we can do. But Lilia, I can't make any promises. All I can do is try.'

'I know, thank you, I'm really grateful. Thank you for helping me.'

Sam squeezed Lilia's hands. 'You're welcome.'

* * *

At first light in the morning, Sam spoke to Leyna and asked to see her teammates urgently. Leyna reluctantly agreed, and Sam was taken to the same room she had met Daniel and Teal'c in two days previously.

Her three teammates eventually arrived, and she took a deep fortifying breath. 'Hi. Thanks for coming.'

'No problem. What's up?' Jack asked.

'I need to ask a favour. It's about Lilia, the girl I told you about who doesn't want to get married.' She said to Jack.

'Oh, the one you think is gay?' Daniel said, nudging Jack's arm.

'She's not gay.' Sam said patiently. 'She's just in love with a different boy and she's scared of the one she's being forced to marry.'

'Why is she afraid of him?' Teal'c asked.

'He used to bully her when they were kids, and apparently he still hates her now. They're only getting married because his mother wants to use the marriage as leverage for a business deal with Lilia's father.'

'I distinctly remember telling you not to get too involved with this because we can't help her.' Jack said.

Sam held up a finger. 'You did, but I think we can help her. And she came to me last night and asked me specifically for help. She's so scared of this boy that she asked me to take her back to Earth with us.'

'We can't do that, they have reproductive problems here, they'll never just let a girl Lilia's age go.' Daniel protested.

'I know, and I told her that, but I think we can help her another way.'

'How?'

Sam took a deep breath. 'By asking Vaya directly to allow Lilia to marry the boy she loves instead, as part of our side of the trade deal.'

Jack closed his eyes and groaned. 'Carter, you know I can't authorise that.'

'She's an innocent kid! We are uniquely positioned to petition Vaya directly on Lilia's behalf, and they want the trade deal badly enough that they'll probably agree. It won't even cost them anything, Lilia will still have kids, she'll just be having them with the boy she loves rather than a boy she's frightened will mistreat her.'

'Sam, I sympathise with Lilia's position, really I do, but the trade deal is all but done. I don't think I can come to them at the eleventh hour with a new demand.' Daniel said.

Sam turned to Jack. 'Please, sir. You wouldn't let it happen last night when it was just a computer generated memory of me, why would you let it happen repeatedly to a real innocent girl?'

Jack's eyes flashed dangerously. 'Daniel, Teal'c, wait outside please.'

The two men reluctantly filed out.

'That's not fair, Sam. That was you. We can't help every single girl in the whole goddamn galaxy.'

'I'm not asking you to help every girl in the galaxy. Just this one. And how can we not help her when we have the power to do it? She's just a kid! What if it was _Hannah_?'

Sam held his gaze imploringly, a thousand emotions flashing between them at the mention of their fictional future daughter.

Jack bowed his head and sighed. 'What _specifically_ would we be asking for?'

'Lilia wants to marry Mikah and be his second wife, rather than marrying Ninar.'

'His second wife? Mikah's already married?'

'Yes, that's one of the reasons why she couldn't marry him in the first place.'

'And Mikah and his current wife would be ok with this?'

'Lilia says they would. She said Mikah loves her just as much as she does him, and Lola, his wife, was her best friend. They would all be fine.'

Jack paused as he thought about it.

'The people on this planet do sometimes have multiple spouses.' Sam reminded him. 'They have to in order to make up for the times when the number of each gender doesn't exactly match up.'

'Ok, ok. We'll raise it with Vaya.'

Sam grinned.

'But!' Jack warned. 'I'm not sacrificing the whole trade deal over this. If Vaya says no, I'm not going to force the issue.'

'I understand. Thank you.' Sam said seriously.

Jack looked down at her with a mixture of aggravation and fondness on his face. 'What am I supposed to tell Daniel when he asks me what you meant by that comment about last night?'

'Tell him to mind his own business.'

Jack smirked. 'I'll see you later.'

'See you later.'


	13. Chapter 13

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 13  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Reference to rape and violence

* * *

Sam told Lilia about her meeting with her team, and the pair spent the best part of the day waiting anxiously for any word of the outcome.

None came.

The evening meal came and went, and soon Sam was back in the lab, waiting for Jack and Leyna. When Jack arrived, he immediately held up his hands to forestall her questions.

'Before you ask, we took it to Vaya, and she said she'd think about it. That's all I've got for now.'

Sam nodded disappointedly. 'Ok. Thank you for taking it to her.'

Leyna clapped her hands together. 'I trust you both remember what was intended for today's rite? Good. Let's begin.'

* * *

Somewhat predictably, the happy memory the simulator selected for Jack was one of Charlie. Ironic that seeing a happy memory of his would hurt him worse than the bad memory had, he thought.

He and Charlie were fishing. Charlie was seven years old, and they were on a boat in the middle of a lake. For the purpose of observation, Sam and Jack found themselves perched in a similar little rowing boat, floating nearby. Charlie's happy laughter carried across the water as a much younger and happier-looking Jack O'Neill played and joked with his son.

A hand stole across his lap and took hold of his own hand, squeezing it. He nudged Sam's shoulder with his companionably in thanks, not wanting to tear his eyes away from the scene in the next boat.

'You look so happy.' Sam commented.

Jack smirked wryly. 'I think that's the point.'

'Yeah.' Sam sighed. 'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be.' He squeezed her hand back.

They stayed in that memory for quite a while, but didn't say anything else. They just watched quietly, bobbing on the waves in the little row boat in the morning sun.

* * *

'Hey, I remember this!' Jack said, looking around. 'This is where we took Cassie to get her new bicycle last year.'

He turned to Sam, perplexed. 'Buying a bicycle is your happiest memory?'

Sam looked embarrassed, and sad. 'Not just buying the bike. That whole day. It's pathetic, I know.'

'I'm not following.'

Sam shrugged. 'Watch.'

So he did. He watched himself, Sam, and fifteen year-old Cassie enter the store, he watched Cassie jump around the flashiest, most expensive bikes while he and Sam cajoled her back to something more suitable. He watched them split the cost between their credit cards – it had been a joint birthday present for the teenager. He watched them load the new bike into the bed of Jack's truck together and he watched Sam climb into the back to secure it while he pretended not to stare. He watched Cassie snigger at him for staring anyway.

He watched them take Cassie for ice cream and squeeze into a booth together, and he watched himself and Sam fight over the last wafer while Cassie rolled her eyes at the pair of them.

He watched them drive her home and hand over the teenager and her new bike to Janet Fraiser. He watched them decline the invitation to dinner – they had an early start the following morning – and walk back to their cars, chatting like best friends, or something else, and he watched them take an hour to actually end the conversation and get into their cars.

Most of all, he watched Sam, who looked completely happy, the whole time.

He looked then at the real Sam, who looked anything but happy. 'I get it now.' He said. 'It was a good day.'

'For a little while that day, I forgot that we weren't supposed to be happy _together_.' Sam said, sounding tortured.

'Yeah. Me too.'

He looked at her, standing there looking utterly forlorn, and decided that wouldn't do. She'd held his hand through the fishing trip memory, it was time to return the favour.

'We should watch it back again and count how many times Cassie rolls her eyes at us.' He commented.

She chuckled. That was better.

'I didn't notice that at the time.'

'Me neither. How can this simulator thing know that Cassie was rolling her eyes at us if neither of _us_ actually noticed?'

'Maybe we did subconsciously. The level of detail in these memories suggests that the simulator is better at reading our memories than even we ourselves are. I mean, I seriously doubt either of us could have quoted that entire conversation they're having word for word, but it certainly sounds right.' She gestured at their remembered selves standing by the cars in Janet's driveway.

Jack inclined his head in agreement, and the simulation abruptly ended.

Jack blinked at the harsh white light of the lab, and looked over at Sam to see her doing the same. He felt bone-tired, something he hadn't felt after any of the other simulations.

'How long were we in there?' He asked Leyna.

'Many hours.' Leyna replied. 'Both of your memories lasted quite some time. It is almost morning.'

'Wow.'

'I suggest you both get some sleep.'

* * *

Daniel had already gotten up for the day when Jack finally staggered in. His enquiries about where the hell Jack had been all night were met with a one word answer – 'simulator', and he decided it would be wisest to just let the man sleep.

He and Teal'c were just finishing their breakfast when a young girl delivered the message that Vaya required their presence.

They were led to her office, and Daniel apologised for Jack's absence, explaining the long marriage rite that had ended scarcely two hours earlier.

'That is quite alright, Dr Jackson. I am pleased he and Major Carter have been taking the marriage rites so seriously. I have been receiving very favourable reports of their progress from their mentor Leyna.'

Daniel nodded his head. 'You wished to see us?'

'It is about the request you made of me yesterday, regarding young Lilia. I gather this matter is particularly important to Major Carter?'

'It is. But, you should know it would also have a bearing on the future of the relationship between our two peoples. This is a vulnerable young woman we're talking about, who is being forced into a potentially dangerous situation. We wouldn't look too kindly on a society that couldn't show her mercy.'

Daniel saw Teal'c shoot him a warning look, and Vaya didn't look best pleased. 'I understand Dr Jackson. Colonel O'Neill made this point himself yesterday. Fortunately, I believe I can agree to your request. The consequences would be manageable, and as you say, this girl's welfare is of a higher priority.'

'That's good to hear. Thank you.'

'As a gesture of goodwill, I will allow you to deliver the news to Major Carter now, in order that she can tell the girl personally.'

Daniel could have jumped for joy. 'I appreciate that Vaya, thank you. This won't be forgotten.'

Vaya inclined her head. 'I should hope not. Please, Laurea here will escort you to the temple to visit with Major Carter.'

* * *

Sam felt like her head had barely touched the pillow when she was shaken awake by Leyna. To her surprise, Lilia was waiting in the temple foyer. The girl jumped to her feet when she saw Sam.

'Major Sam, what's going on?'

'I don't know Lilia.'

'Dr Jackson would like a word with you Samantha.' Leyna explained, indicating the room attached to the foyer. 'He asked that Lilia wait for you outside.'

Sam and Lilia both realised what this must be about, and their eyes met. 'Wait here Lilia. I'll find out what's happening.'

She opened the door of the side room, and Daniel stood and crossed the room to meet her. 'Hey Sam.' He hugged her.

'Hey. What's going on?'

'Vaya said yes. Lilia can be Mikah's second wife rather than marry Ninar.'

'Daniel that's fantastic!' Sam exclaimed. 'She's just outside, let me go tell her.'

'Ok. Come back afterwards, would you, I want to talk to you some more.' He said with a squeeze of her arm. She smiled and nodded.

'Lilia?' She called when she went back into the foyer. Lilia ran up to her. 'I've got good news. Vaya Maroa agreed to let you marry Mikah.'

Lilia's eyes filled with tears. 'Thank you! That's all I ever wanted, thank you so much!'

Sam hugged her, smiling. 'I'm glad we could help.'

'Thank you, thank you, thank you …' Lilia said, the words spilling from her quickly, muffled by Sam's chest in the hug, making Sam grin.

'You're very welcome.'

'Lilia, time to go back to class.' Leyna called.

Lilia grinned at Sam tearfully, and then almost skipped across the hall to go back to the temple's inner sanctum. Sam smiled after her for a moment and then met Leyna's eye. 'May I have another few minutes? Dr Jackson said he had other matters to discuss with me.'

'Go ahead.'

Sam went back into the smaller room, beaming. 'Thank you so much for that, Daniel.'

'My pleasure. Although, Jack should really get the credit, he did most of the talking with Vaya yesterday.'

'Really? Wow.'

'Whatever you said to him after he shooed us out of here yesterday morning really got to him.'

Sam smiled to herself and looked downwards.

'Sam … I wanted to ask you … what did you mean when you said that Jack hadn't let something happen to you in the memory simulator the night before?'

Sam sighed. 'Daniel, I really don't want to talk about it. It was the night when we had to share a bad memory, and I'm really not all that eager to get into it again.'

'Ok, I get that, it's just … it kind of sounded like you were implying you'd been hurt by someone you'd been in a relationship with, and I've been worrying about it ever since.'

Sam was silent for a moment, and then sat down on the bench, patting the space next to her. Daniel sat down obediently, waiting.

'It was Jonas Hansen. He … well, there were a couple of occasions when the sex wasn't exactly consensual, and the bad memory the simulator decided to pick on was the first time that happened. As it turned out though, when we were in the simulation we could interact with our environment, so rather than letting the memory play out, Jack stopped it. He hit Jonas so hard I think he might have killed him.'

'Oh my God, Sam …'

'It's ok. It was a long, _long_ time ago. I'm ok.'

Daniel opened his arms and Sam willingly accepted the hug. She was still exhausted, and she felt it again full force when she rested her head on Daniel's shoulder and closed her eyes.

'You should go before I fall asleep on you.' She muttered after a moment.

Daniel chuckled. 'Yeah, I think Jack's still sleeping off last night. I gather it was a long one?'

'Apparently our happiest memories are very long-winded.'

'Want to talk about that?'

Sam pulled back and smiled at him. 'Another time perhaps. Right now, I'm going back to bed.'

'Sweet dreams.'


	14. Chapter 14

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 14  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Reference to sexual activity

* * *

That evening, a fully rested Sam and Jack were taken by Leyna to another new room in the temple. This one had no windows, and was lit with dozens upon dozens of candles. There was a pool in the corner of the room, which lapped gently. Gossamer drapes cascaded from the ceiling at intervals – prompting both air force officers to blanch at the fire hazard – and the floor was covered in cushions of various sizes. Leyna settled onto a cushion at the edge of the room, and indicated that Sam and Jack sit in the centre.

'This is the second to last marriage rite, and it is to assess your romantic compatibility.' Leyna informed them, her voice soft.

Sam could have groaned. She met Jack's eyes and saw the exact combination of regret and resignation there, that she was currently feeling swamped with.

'I will guide you through the rite. First, sit facing each other, and take each other's hands.'

Jack shifted, folding his legs awkwardly, while Sam crossed hers more fluidly. Jack held out his hands with a wry smile, and Sam joined them with hers self-consciously.

'Now, I want you just to sit for a while, and be together. Hold each other's gaze if you can.'

Jack let out a huff of air, and determinedly met her eyes. He looked like he was on a mission. Sam tried to follow suit, and stared back.

After a couple of minutes, Leyna spoke. 'Samantha, Colonel, this is not a children's staring competition. You should be communicating with your eyes, not attacking with them.'

Sam closed her eyes, breathing deeply, and tried again. When she opened her eyes Jack was looking at her more softly, and she felt a sharp stab of pain at the sight. He wasn't supposed to look at her like that. She wanted him to, desperately, but it promised things she couldn't have.

To her dismay she felt her eyes tearing up, and she blinked furiously to try and clear them, but a couple of hot, fat tears spilled down her cheeks. She wiped at them hurriedly, muttering an apology.

'Samantha, what is wrong?' Leyna asked.

'Nothing, nothing, I'm fine. Sorry.' She breathed in deeply and took Jack's hands again, trying to get back to what she was supposed to be doing. Jack was looking at her with concern.

A couple more minutes passed in silence, and she found she just couldn't do it. She couldn't meet his eyes, while he was looking at her so tenderly, without her eyes filling with tears.

She glared down at her lap angrily and shook her head. 'Leyna, is there any chance we can move on to whatever comes next?'

Leyna waited a moment before answering. 'Samantha, tell us why you are getting upset.'

'I don't know.'

'I don't think that's true.'

Sam huffed but didn't answer. Jack squeezed her hands and she looked up at him. 'It might be time to cross one of those lines, Sam.'

She almost sobbed. 'We can't.'

Jack sighed, and bodily turned towards Leyna. 'Leyna, cards on the table. How far are we going to have to go?'

Leyna looked startled and confused. 'I'm sorry Jack, I don't understand.'

'I mean, physically and emotionally. What's the endgame, what is the most you need us to say and do before the marriage rites are complete?'

Leyna frowned at the question. 'Typically we don't give out that information ahead of time.'

'Leyna, Sam's upset because what you're asking us to do is actively breaking the rules of our military. I'm Sam's commanding officer and she's my subordinate, we're not supposed to have romantic feelings for each other, and we're certainly not supposed to act on them. We've gotten very good at pretending not to have romantic compatibility, and now you're expecting us to do the opposite and flaunt it. It would help if we knew exactly how broken those rules are going to have to get before this is over.'

Leyna thought for a moment. 'I need to see that you are romantically compatible. So far, with Sam not being able to even hold your gaze, I haven't seen that yet. If we need to escalate the physicality of this exercise to demonstrate that, we will do.'

Sam closed her eyes briefly and then looked down at her hands.

Jack's finger entered her field of vision and tapped her hand. 'Hey, look at me.'

She looked up at him. He looked so … kind. 'We can do this. It's you and me, we've got romantic compatibility in spades.'

'It also sounds like it might be better to warn you ahead of time about the content of tomorrow's rite.' Leyna said. Both Jack and Sam turned to look at her. 'In the final rite, we look for sexual compatibility.'

Sam stopped breathing.

Jack coughed. 'Excuse me?'

'In tomorrow's rite, you will need to demonstrate that you can satisfy each other sexually.'

Sam buried her face in her hands.

'You're telling us this _now_?' Jack asked indignantly.

'You asked to be told now.' Leyna said, confused.

Jack groaned and leaned backwards, scrubbing his face with his hands. 'Ok … Leyna, I think we're going to need a minute here.'

Leyna looked annoyed, but rose. 'We will take a short break. I will be back soon.'

She left the room, and Jack stood and paced around a bit before sitting on the raised edge of the pool.

'You ok?' He asked.

Sam nodded. 'Yeah, I'm ok. I guess we knew this might be coming.' She sighed. 'I feel pretty ridiculous for making a fuss about just _looking_ at you now.' She added wryly.

'I figured it might help to know what we're building up to. Makes the steps up to it seem a little less scandalous.' Jack explained.

He came back over to his seat on the cushion in front of her, and took up her hands again. 'Look, Sam …' he trailed off. She met his eyes uncertainly, and he seemed to draw strength from that. 'We _are_ going to have to cross those imaginary lines the air force drew for us. We both have to find a way to be ok with that.'

Sam nodded mutely in agreement.

'Alright, how about this for a game-plan for tonight: rather than the somewhat ridiculous 'gaze deeply into each other's eyes' routine, how about when Leyna comes back in I just kiss you?'

Sam licked her lips. 'That could work.'

'I mean, she seemed pretty pleased with the results when I had to kiss you the other day.'

'Yeah, it's a good plan.'

'Ok then. So, I'm going to kiss you, and we're both going to be ok with that?'

'Yes.'

'Excellent.'

He looked at her awkwardly for a moment, and then cleared his throat. 'I'm going to go get her.'

* * *

Leyna settled back down onto her cushion, and Jack settled himself down, this time next to Sam rather than opposite her. She offered him a small smile, which he was pleased to see. He needed her to trust him, or this wouldn't work.

'Are you ready to continue?' Leyna asked.

'Yeah. We'd like to try and demonstrate what you're looking for ourselves though, rather than doing what you were telling us to do before.' Jack said. Leyna nodded.

'Very well.'

Jack shifted and twisted his upper body slightly to face Sam, and she did the same. He looked at her carefully, wanting to be sure to catch it if there was even the slightest indication that she wasn't comfortable with this. He ghosted a hand over her cheek, barely touching her, and she closed her eyes briefly in response. Taking that as encouragement, he settled his hand there gently, and leaned in towards her. She copied, leaning towards him, and then they were as close as they could be while maintaining eye contact. Just as he had the other day, he asked in a whisper if she was ready, and she nodded. He closed the distance quickly, and then paused just before touching her lips, before claiming them tentatively.

He kissed her ever so softly, and she kissed him back in exactly the same way. It was the single sweetest experience of his life. Although they'd kissed four days previously at the end of the second rite, this felt like a first time.

He ended it and looked at her, cupping her jaw in both hands and stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. She smiled sweetly, smiling with her eyes as much as with her mouth.

He leaned in to kiss her again, still tenderly, but with more passion. She matched him once again, and he marvelled at how good they were at this considering how little experience they had with each other. He tried to pour his feelings for her into this kiss, his respect, his passion, his love. This kiss lasted a while, neither of them wanting it to end.

When it did end, he rested his forehead against hers, and realised that one of her hands was on the skin of his back under his shirt. He shivered in pleasure and pulled her close, tucking his face into her neck as he wrapped his arms around her.

After a long moment, he pulled away enough to look in Leyna's direction, one arm still around Sam.

'Was that enough?' He asked.

Leyna smiled. 'Yes Colonel. That will do for tonight.'

Jack looked down at Sam with a wry half smile, and she grinned back.

Leyna rose. 'I will take you out now, Colonel. Please ensure that you are both fully prepared for what will be required of you tomorrow.' She entreated earnestly.

Jack winced. He stood up, as did Sam, and he turned to face her, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. 'I guess I'll see you tomorrow.'

Sam smiled nervously. 'I guess so.'

He smiled briefly as a goodbye, and then turned to follow Leyna out the door. At the last moment Sam rushed over to him and grabbed his arm.

'Wait.' She said, and pulled him to face her again, before putting her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly.

He growled deep in his throat in pleasure, and breathed deeply when the kiss ended.

'Damn, Carter. Are you trying to kill me?' He said in an undertone. Her eyes sparkled with fire and mirth, and he was supremely glad to see it.

'Colonel?' Leyna called, and he reluctantly pulled away from Sam.

He had a feeling that if they could get over their nerves and fear of crossing imaginary lines, they wouldn't have any problems with sexual compatibility at all.


	15. Chapter 15

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 15  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Reference to sexual activity

* * *

Jack had a spring in his step when he got back to the cabin. Daniel and Teal'c were bent over a game of the local equivalent of chequers, and they looked up when Jack came in and settled himself in the armchair.

'You look like you're in a good mood.' Daniel observed.

Jack shrugged. 'You could say that.'

'What was the rite this evening?'

'Romantic compatibility.'

'Ah.' Daniel's eyebrows rose and he tried to stifle a grin of amusement unsuccessfully.

'I assume it went well.' Teal'c said, turning his back on the game to face Jack.

'We passed. Eventually.'

'What, it took you a while? What was the problem?'

'Carter was nervous. On the bright side though, _because_ she was nervous, I managed to convince Leyna to tell us what this rite and tomorrow's rite would entail ahead of time.'

'Oh? And?'

Jack paused, wishing suddenly that he hadn't mentioned it. He didn't really want to discuss the particulars of tomorrow's rite with the boys, it was too personal, too private between himself and Sam. He opted to hedge around that one instead.

'Leyna had us trying to prove we were romantically compatible by staring at each other, which was just weird, and Sam couldn't do it. So I got Leyna to tell us exactly what she was looking for, and came up with a way to show it to her.'

'…. _And …._?' Daniel waved his hands in annoyance.

'And I kissed her.'

'Sam?'

'Of course Sam. What purpose would kissing Leyna serve?'

'Just checking. Was it ok?'

Jack gave him a level look. Daniel smirked.

'Yeah, ok, stupid question.'

'What will tomorrow's rite involve?' Teal'c asked.

 _D'oh._

'Stuff. More of the same. Only, you know, more.' Jack said vaguely, standing up. 'I'm going to bed. See you in the morning.'

'Goodnight.' Daniel said, frowning.

Just as Jack closed his bedroom door, he heard Daniel say to Teal'c, 'What do you think he means by _more_?'

* * *

Teal'c presented himself to the temple attendants the next morning before the sun had finished rising, and calmly informed them of his intention to visit with Major Carter. The attendants looked startled, and one of them fetched Leyna who reluctantly agreed to bring the Major, muttering under her breath at the inconvenience.

Teal'c stood and waited patiently for Major Carter's arrival in the small room to the side of the temple foyer. When she did arrive, he smiled and inclined his head.

'Major Carter, good morning.'

'Morning Teal'c. Is everything alright?'

'I had wanted to ask that of you. O'Neill made some comments upon his return last night that troubled me.'

Sam flushed red. 'Really? What did he say?'

Teal'c thought for a moment on how best to phrase it. 'He did not say a great deal and was purposefully vague, but he implied that you may be required to demonstrate a significant level of intimacy this evening. Knowing you as I do, I was concerned that you may be very uncomfortable with such a demonstration.'

Sam drew in a shaky breath. 'You could say that. I didn't exactly sleep last night, worrying about it.'

Teal'c felt his heart clench a little at the confirmation. 'I am sorry to hear that. But I am absolutely certain that O'Neill would never do anything to hurt you, or to make you uncomfortable.'

'Oh, no, I know that Teal'c, that's not what I'm worried about.' Sam said quickly. 'It's just the … you know, _audience_ that I'm not too happy about.' She sighed and sat down on one of the benches. 'Not to mention the fact that I'm probably going to get kicked off SG-1 because of this.'

Teal'c frowned slightly, and sat beside her. 'I do not believe General Hammond would hold you responsible for your actions here. Everything that is happening is against your will, and if you were not complying you would face far graver consequences. General Hammond himself has already authorised you to proceed with the marriage rites.'

'Be that as it may, I'm basically going to have to sleep with my commanding officer tonight. Even if the circumstances of it mean we don't have to face court martial, the General won't keep us on the same team, he can't.'

Teal'c considered this gravely. 'It would be a significant loss to SG-1 if that is the case. I would also miss your presence on the team myself.'

Sam smiled sadly at him. 'Thanks, Teal'c.'

'Is there anything I can do to help you to prepare for this evening?' He asked.

She looked startled at the question. 'Um, no, thanks, I'll be fine.'

'Very well.' Teal'c rose. 'I hope the marriage rite this evening goes well for you both. I will see you tomorrow.'

Sam hugged him, and he returned the hug gladly.

'Bye Teal'c.'

'Goodbye Major Carter.'

* * *

Jack was summoned to Leyna's office in the temple around mid-morning, much to his surprise. He was half expecting to find Sam in there too, but when he entered the office it was only Leyna, behind a desk piled high with files.

'Colonel, thank you for coming in, I hope I didn't disrupt the trade negotiations too much by pulling you away?'

'No, you didn't. Daniel's the point man on that front.'

Leyna looked as though she didn't quite understand his vernacular, but she got the gist. 'Good. I needed to speak with you about the rite this evening. As you know, the rite assesses your sexual compatibility with Samantha. Now, usually, the people going through these rites are young people with little to no previous experience of sexual activity.'

Jack shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

'That obviously isn't the case here though.' Leyna continued. 'I bring it up because usually the couple would during the course of this day receive lessons from a temple instructor on various sexual acts, in order to best please their betrothed and pass the rite in the evening. I appreciate it may not be needed so much in your case, but I wanted to offer you the option.'

Jack opened and closed his mouth a few times in shock. 'I think I'll be fine, thanks.' He said eventually in a strained voice.

Leyna smiled in amusement and nodded her head. 'I thought as much, but it would have been remiss of me not to offer. That's all I wanted to speak with you about, you can return to the negotiations now if you wish.'

Jack stood up and clapped his hands together awkwardly. 'Okeydokey. See you later.'


	16. Chapter 16

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 16  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Reference to sexual activity

* * *

Sam was extracted from the tech lab in the late afternoon by temple attendants, who said they needed to prepare for the evening's rite. With some trepidation, she let them lead her to the dinner hall where she ate a quick early dinner, and then on to the bathing rooms.

The bathing rooms were empty at this hour, but they led her instead to one she hadn't seen before, with a small pool big enough for only a few people rather than the swimming pool sized baths contained in the other rooms. The warm water was perfumed heavily, and the air was heady with the scent.

The attendants – two women who looked to be in their fifties, and a third in her twenties – instructed Sam to bathe, and she self-consciously removed her red sari and sandals and handed the garments over before stepping into the warm water. Soap for her hair was handed to her, and she washed quickly, wondering what they were going to give her to wear since they'd confiscated her clothing.

A huge bath sheet was provided once she was done washing, and Sam wrapped it around herself gladly, towelling her hair dry with the loose end. Then, still dressed in only the towel, the women sat her down in another room and went to work on her, applying make-up and styling her hair. They fastened a short gold necklace at her throat, and sprayed her with perfume.

When they finally let her put on some clothes, Sam almost wished she could keep the bath sheet. She had gotten used to the sari that left a reasonably thin strip of flesh bare at her belly, but this was much worse. The skirt was long, but had slits on both sides, exposing the sides of her legs almost to the hip. The short-sleeved top had a low scooping neckline, and ended only a few inches below her breasts, leaving a long expanse of her stomach bare.

She had just finished dressing when she heard a distinctly familiar male voice cursing nearby. It was Jack, griping about his own outfit, and she couldn't help but chuckle, glad that for once he was being made to play dress-up too.

Now fully dressed – or as 'fully dressed' as she was permitted to get – Sam was ushered out the door, and was led back to the room they had used the previous evening, the candlelit room with drapes, cushions, and a pool. Today it also had blankets.

Leyna was waiting for her there, and the older woman rose as Sam entered.

'Samantha, you look lovely.' She said kindly.

'Thank you.' Sam said, folding her arms over her bare stomach.

'Colonel O'Neill should be along –' Leyna was cut off as Jack suddenly entered.

She could understand why he'd been complaining – he did look faintly ridiculous. His chest was bare, with a long, sleeveless robe over his shoulders, and he was wearing a matching pair of short pants. Teal'c could have pulled it off, she thought, but on Jack it just looked silly.

She realised that while she'd been trying not to laugh at his outfit, he'd been looking at her, and was still looking. There was a dark and intense look in his eyes that made something stir low in her belly.

'Hi.' She said, when he didn't stop staring.

He shook himself out of the trance he seemed to have fallen into, and gave her a sheepish grin. 'Hey.'

Leyna cleared her throat. 'Today's rite, as you know, is the last one, and if you pass it then tomorrow you will be wed. You can take your time if you want, but by sunrise you need to have demonstrated sexual compatibility. Ideally, that means that you will have demonstrated that you can stir sexual desire in each other, and then satisfy that desire.'

Sam wrapped her arms around her stomach more tightly, feeling tense and nervous.

'Do you have to be here the whole time?'

Leyna smiled sympathetically. 'I will leave once I have seen enough to satisfy the requirements of the marriage rite. That may be quite quickly, or not, depending on how you get on. Now, you both refused the offer of lessons in the sexual arts –'

Jack smirked and cast a sideways glance at Sam, who looked away quickly, cheeks flaming red.

'- so I'm expecting that you'll not need me to lead you in any way either.' Leyna finished.

Jack cleared his throat. 'I think we can figure it out.'

'Then I will retire to this corner, and let you begin. Remember, there is no rush, so if you need to spend some time getting comfortable with one another then that is absolutely fine.'

Sam blew out a puff of air, trying to take the edge off of her nerves. Jack cocked his head towards the pool. 'Shall we sit and talk for a minute?'

'Yeah, that's a good idea.'

The pool had a raised edge, and they sat on it side by side, dangling their feet in the water.

'Are you nervous?' Jack asked.

'A little.' Sam admitted.

'Me too.'

Sam eyed him sceptically. 'You don't look it.'

'I've got an _excellent_ poker face. Comes in handy with card games.'

'I bet it does.' Sam chuckled.

Jack sloshed water about with his feet. 'Sorry for staring before. Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.'

'It's ok.'

'It's just … you look good.' He nudged her arm with his and gave her a small smile.

'Thanks.' Her eyes drifted down to his outfit again, and he rolled his eyes.

'I know, right? I look ridiculous.'

'It's … a look.' She said diplomatically.

'I feel like a circus performer. I should be taming tigers, or walking a high wire.'

She laughed.

'I know Teal'c came to see you this morning.' Jack said after a pause.

Sam nodded. 'He wanted to check I was ok.'

'When he came back he explained to me in _great detail_ the many ways he would hurt me if anything happens that you don't like.'

Sam groaned. 'Oh God. I'm sorry.'

'Nah, it's ok. He'd have to get in line, anyway, I've got first dibs on torturing myself if I screw this up.'

Sam looked up at him. He was staring at his feet in the water. 'You're not going to screw it up.' She said softly.

He met her eyes uncertainly. 'I didn't want it to be like this. Our … first time, should have been … oh hell, it shouldn't be like this.'

Sam nodded and then rested her head on his shoulder. 'I know. But we'll make it work, it's ok.'

He put an arm around her, hand settling on her hip rather than braving the bare skin of her side, although his thumb still brushed her skin above her waistband. She leaned into him a little more, comfortably.

'I'm glad we don't have to rush it, I think we needed to talk first.' Jack said.

She hummed in agreement, and put her own arm around his lower back, returning the loose embrace. It felt good, natural and close and comfortable.

'By the way …' Jack said, his voice muffled in her hair, 'you smell _amazing_.'

Sam laughed, turning her face into his shoulder. 'They made me bathe in some scented water and then sprayed me with enough perfume to drown a cat.'

'It kinda works for me. It goes with the whole exotic fertility goddess thing you've got going on with that outfit.'

Sam snorted with laughter again and looked up at him. 'Oh _please_. Now you're just making fun of me.'

'Maybe a little. But you do look hot.'

She grinned at him, and he smiled back, and then he lifted his hand to her face, smoothing her hair back behind her ear. His eyes were so warm, and so dark, and she got lost in the way he was looking at her. He leaned in, and kissed her softly.

After a moment, she pulled away. 'Before this goes any further, I need to tell you something.'

'Ok.'

'Ok. So. The thing is … it's, um … it's been a while. For me.'

'Ok.' Jack said. 'How long's a while?'

Sam drew her hands into her lap and looked at them. 'Years.'

'As in … longer than I've known you?'

'Just about, yeah. I had a boyfriend after Jonas, but I broke up with him just before my transfer to the SGC.'

'Ok. In that case, full disclosure, it hasn't been quite that long for me.'

Sam smiled wryly at him. 'I know.'

'But it has been over a year. Nearly two, actually.'

'Oh. Ok.' She nodded.

'Sam.'

She looked up at him. 'Yes?'

'Don't be scared.'

'I'm not.'

'You look like you are.'

'I'm not scared.' She argued. 'I'm … a little nervous, that's all. There's a lot of pressure.'

'Well, let's try and forget about the circumstances, and the expectations and the consequences, and just enjoy the moment.'

Sam took a deep breath. 'I'll try.'

'Good.' He stood and held out a hand for her. She took it and stood.

'Wanna make out?' He said, waggling his eyebrows. She laughed and tucked herself against his side with an arm around his waist. He put his arm around her shoulders and led her over to the cushions.


	17. Chapter 17

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 17  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: This is the M-rated chapter, due to graphic sex - if you want you can skip it and replace it in your head with the words 'Jack and Sam have sex', without missing much by way of plot.

* * *

Sam felt a frisson of nerves again as they sat down together in the nest of cushions, as it was more difficult over here to forget that Leyna was watching. When they'd been sitting by the pool, they'd been on the other side of the room, and they'd been facing away from her.

Jack took Sam's hand and pulled her closer, and then with his other hand cupped her jaw as he leaned in and kissed her. She felt her nerves lessen immediately. She could never get tired of being kissed by Jack O'Neill.

She kissed him back, and felt it become deeper, and more passionate. His hands found their way to her bare waist, and she hummed at the feeling of his hands on her skin. Her own hands were on the outside of his robe, but she let them slip underneath instead, her palms on his chest. His clothing may have looked odd, but right now she was enjoying the access it afforded her.

Jack lay down sideways, pulling her with him, and she tucked her body in close to him as they kissed. His hand travelled from her waist around to her lower back, and she arched her back reflexively, pressing her body full length against him.

She gasped as she felt a particular part of his anatomy hard against her abdomen.

'That's not your sidearm.' She joked breathlessly.

'Nope.'

He captured her lips again, holding her close, his hand running up and down her back. The robe proved little hindrance to her own hands, and she happily explored the planes of his back. The feel of his hard length between them was fuelling her own desire, she could feel it start to pulse between her legs. She hooked her knee up over his, and his hand abruptly left her back and smoothed its way over her thigh from knee to hip. She groaned and slid her tongue against his in response.

He moved suddenly, rolling her over onto her back and settling above her, legs entangled with hers. As he kissed her, his hand ran from the skin of her thigh over her skirt-covered hip, and up the long expanse of skin from her waistband to her top. It didn't stop there, trailing up to the side of her breast.

They broke apart, breathing hard, and Sam caressed Jack's back while they got their breath back. It felt heady to just be able to touch him like that.

'You ok?' He asked.

'Oh yeah.' She said. 'Never better.'

He kissed her again, but softly this time, and she held him close as she kissed him back. Then he rolled off of her, sat up, and looked contemplatively at the pool.

'What are you thinking?' She asked, sitting up next to him.

Jack glanced in Leyna's direction, and then lowered his mouth to Sam's ear to whisper to her. 'I'm thinking if we go in the pool we'll be fairly well shielded from view.'

She pulled back enough to meet his eyes. 'Do you think that's allowed?'

'I don't see why not.'

Jack stood, his erection visibly tenting his pants, and walked over to the pool. Sam joined him.

'What do you think?' He asked softly, settling his hand on her lower back and caressing her with his thumb.

'It's a good idea, I like it.'

'I know you're nervous about being watched.'

Sam nodded. 'Let's do it.'

Jack kissed her again, and ran his hands up and down her upper arms. 'I guess we should undress then.' He said between kisses.

'Mm-hmm.' She agreed, and slid her hands over his collarbone to push his robe from his shoulders, leaving him naked from the waist up. She hummed in appreciation and explored his chest with her hands.

Jack's hands meanwhile weren't idle, and he was trying – and failing – to figure out how Sam's top was done up.

She laughed and pulled away from him. 'It's elasticated.' She explained, and, turning her back on Leyna, pulled the material up and over her head.

Jack growled something and tugged her close, her breasts pressing against his chest as he explored her mouth with his tongue. Sam slipped her fingers down her hips inside the waistbands of her skirt and underwear, and slid both garments off to pool at her feet. Not wanting to spend too long completely naked in front of a spectator, she pulled away from Jack and slipped into the pool.

It wasn't too deep, and she had to bend her knees to keep her breasts below the water level. It was wonderfully warm though. She grinned up at Jack.

'Are you coming in?'

'God yes.' He said emphatically, and she got her first look at his completely naked body as he stripped his pants off and climbed in after her.

She wasn't disappointed.

As soon as he was in the pool she went to him, and he pulled her close, his erection pressing against her stomach. He kissed her neck and she clung to his shoulders, his hands sliding down her wet sides before finally coming up to cup and caress her breasts.

His kisses trailed from her neck down to her chest, and she moaned in pleasure as he took her nipple into his mouth. He kissed and nipped at one, and then the other, and then Sam took control, pushing him back against the wall of the pool and pinning him with her legs on either side of him. His arms encircled her waist, and she revelled in the glorious feeling of being pressed against him in the water without a scrap of clothing between them.

Jack met her eyes, and then his hand moved to her hip, and then trailed slowly down and in between her legs. Sam's breathing came more quickly, and still maintaining eye contact he stroked at the outside of her labia, feather soft. She pressed her forehead to his as he parted her, and gasped as he slid a finger against her center.

'Carter.' He whispered, almost like a prayer. She met his eyes again, and could almost have cried at the love she saw there.

He started rubbing softly at her sensitive bundle of nerves, and she moved against him, her breasts brushing against his chest, gasping breaths against the side of his neck. The pleasure was coiling in her centre like a spring. She kissed him again hungrily, and reached down to take his hard length in her hand. He batted her hand away after a moment though.

'Not yet.' He whispered. 'You first.'

He lifted her knees up over his hips, and she put her arms around his neck. Then his hand returned to her, and his finger trailed gently down from her clitoris to her opening, teasing and exploring the entrance.

'Please.' She breathed.

He sunk one long finger into her, and she cried out at the sensation. He started stroking slowly, in and out, curling slightly to find the sweet spot. Her breaths came faster and she moved with him, her legs gripping his hips. He added a finger and she moaned long and deep, lost in the feeling. He stroked faster, impaling her on his fingers, his other hand supporting her ass and holding her close. The water lapped between them noisily with his rhythm.

'God, Jack …' she said, her voice breaking.

'Come for me, Sam.'

She was racing towards the cliff, she could feel it, her climax was so close, it was about to explode, as Jack's fingers pumped inside her, fast and powerful.

She let go.

Her climax hit her like a freight train, and the world went white. Jack caught her, his arms tight around her waist, as she came down, breathing hard.

'Holy shit.' She swore with a chuckle, her head buried in the crook of Jack's neck.

'That good, huh?' He said, sounding supremely pleased with himself.

She chuckled again and kissed his neck, quite content to stay tucked against him in the water with his arms tight around her.

'Is she still there?' Jack whispered after a couple of minutes. Sam peeked over his shoulder, and then shrank back into the cover his body offered.

'Yup.'

'D'oh. The woman's a voyeur.' He whispered.

'Well, to be fair, we do still have work to do.' Sam said suggestively, with her most seductive smile.

Jack growled and kissed her.

'Want you.' He said between kisses.

He suddenly dropped, disappearing below the water, leaving Sam momentarily unbalanced. Then his hands gripped her hips, and she felt the singularly delicious sensation of his tongue stroking at her clit. She clapped a hand to her mouth to suppress a cry of pleasure, self-conscious without Jack there between her and Leyna, albeit on the other side of a large room.

She wasn't comfortable standing in full view like that though, so she pulled him up, and he sucked in a deep breath of air as he broke the surface, wiping his face clear of the water and her moisture.

She kissed him deeply, and hooked her knees back over his hips, one arm around his shoulders to hold herself steady. Her other hand reached down for him. He moved to back her against the wall of the pool, and his hand joined hers, guiding himself to her opening.

He stopped at the entrance, and met her eyes for a moment, a serious expression on his face.

'Is this ok?'

'Yes. _Yes_.'

'You're ready?'

'I'm ready.' She kissed him, briefly and sweetly, and he grunted and rested his forehead against hers, his penis still poised at her entrance.

'Carter.' He said.

'Yes.'

'I love you.'

Her eyes filled with tears, and she kissed him fiercely. 'I love you too.'

He kissed her back, and then moved. He slid inside her, slowly, and she moaned at the exquisite pleasure and pain of being stretched, and filled. Finally, fully seated inside her, he kissed her again deeply, his tongue duelling with hers.

'I'm not going to last long.' He warned her.

'I know. It's ok.'

He reached down in the water and found her clit, circling it slowly with his fingers. She gasped and bit gently on his shoulder, and then kissed his neck. He did that for a minute or more until she was panting and almost writing with the need to move.

'Jack, now…' She whispered.

He moved his hand and took hold of her hips, and then slowly, agonisingly, pulled out, before thrusting slowly back into her tight channel again.

'Yes …' Sam gasped.

He did it again, and again, moving slowly and steadily, each time pulling almost all the way out and then filling her to the hilt. It was intense, and sensual, and she could feel another orgasm bearing down on her, but she needed more. With her arms around his neck she leaned forward and rolled her hips, trying to get more control of the pace. Jack groaned and let her move on him, and she rode him, moving in an erotic rhythm, water splashing around her with every stroke.

'Fuck, Carter …' He groaned, and she could tell he was close.

She gave into her desire and moved faster and harder, and he was right there with her thrusting into her, hitting just the right spot. She threw her head back and her mouth opened in a silent scream as her orgasm crashed over her, and with a final thrust and cry of pleasure Jack came inside her, her internal muscles milking him.

He spun them around and collapsed back against the wall, holding her, her head resting against his shoulder.

For a few minutes they didn't move, and just stayed there, recovering, Jack's softened cock still buried inside Sam.

She kissed his neck softly, and then carefully moved off of him. He groaned, and when she was unseated he tugged her closer to him again by the waist, resting his forehead on her chest as she stood in front of him.

'God, Carter, that was amazing.'

She giggled, and he scowled at her.

'What the hell could you be giggling about right now?'

She placated him with a kiss, settling back down to his eye level. 'I just found it vaguely amusing that this last week you've gotten really good at calling me Sam, but apparently sex makes you call me Carter.'

Jack snorted. 'Yeah, I guess you're right. Does that bother you?'

'No. Actually it was kind of a turn-on.'

'Kinky.' Jack said, eyes twinkling.

She splashed him. 'Shut up.'

He laughed. 'Is she gone now?' He asked in a conspiratorial stage whisper.

Sam rose out of the water a little to check. 'Yes.' She breathed a sigh of relief. 'She's gone.'

'Good job too. I'm not a young guy, I don't think I could keep this up all night.' He joked.

Sam sniggered at him. 'Please. You'll be wanting more in an hour.'

'Hey! A half hour, tops, thank you very much. I'm not _that_ old.'

She chuckled and kissed him, and he pulled her closer and kissed her back.

'I really do love you, you know.' She said when the kiss ended.

'I know, Carter. I know.' He said smugly.

She splashed him again. He dunked her. She came up gasping and laughing and called a truce, wiping water from her eyes.

'You've probably ruined my make-up.' She complained.

'Nah. You're beautiful.' He said softly, adoringly. She grinned at him. 'Ok, we should probably get out of this water.'

They climbed out of the pool, and quickly realised something they hadn't noticed before.

'No towels.'

'We'll have to air dry. It's warm enough.'

Jack caught hold of Sam's hand and took them over to the thickest nest of cushions, collapsing down in them on his back. He held out his arm and Sam settled next to him, her head pillowed on his shoulder, closing her eyes tiredly.

'Are we supposed to sleep here?' Jack wondered aloud.

'I don't know. Leyna never said.'

Jack raised his head and looked around. 'There're blankets. That kind of suggests we're meant to stay.'

He turned his head to Sam and ran his hand down her side from waist to thigh. She closed her eyes blissfully and hummed.

'I'd like to stay.' He said.

'Do you always talk this much after sex?' She asked, eyes still closed.

'Am I keeping you up? I thought I was supposed to be the tired old one.'

'Getting tired after sex isn't an age thing.' Sam said. 'I've always been like that. It's an evolutionary trait, anyway. Women would be more likely to get pregnant if they stayed still after intercourse, and getting tired and sleeping is a good way of ensuring that happens.'

There was silence, and Sam suddenly worried that she'd said the wrong thing. She opened her eyes but found Jack watching her fondly.

'Go to sleep, Sam.'

She sighed happily, and closed her eyes.

'Love you.' She said, just because she could.

'I love you too.'


	18. Chapter 18

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 18  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: Reference to sexual activity, a curse word, and violence, in that order.  
Author note: My 'Daniel' came out a little hostile in this one ... probably OOC, but my reasoning was he got worked up waiting for hours worrying about Sam, who he cares about like a sister.

* * *

A short while later Sam woke when Jack got up. He found the facilities and then came back with one of the blankets.

'Is it morning?' Sam asked.

'Not yet.'

'There aren't any windows.'

'I haven't been to sleep yet, it's only been an hour. We should probably put those clothes back on, Leyna might come in here before we're awake in the morning.'

He fetched their clothes from the side of the pool and tossed Sam's to her. She pulled the top, skirt and underwear on quickly, and Jack settled behind her, spooning her, one arm wrapped around her bare stomach. He pulled the blanket over them both.

'What are we going to do when we go home? I know we said we'd try and get through this as friends and then go back to a working relationship later, but … I don't think I can do that.' Sam asked after a minute.

Jack sighed and held her closer for a moment, kissing her neck. 'We'll talk to Hammond and figure it out.'

'As easy as that?'

'I didn't say it would be easy. But we'll figure it out.'

Sam rolled onto her back and looked up at him. He stroked her cheek and kissed her forehead.

'Don't worry. It'll be alright.' He soothed her.

'I hope so.'

'Go back to sleep.'

She turned over again and pulled the blanket under her chin, settling in his arms to sleep.

* * *

'Good morning, Colonel, Samantha …' Leyna's voice intruded on Jack's consciousness and he groaned softly, his hand flexing on Sam's stomach.

'It can't be morning yet.' He griped. He felt Sam's belly vibrate as she chuckled, and then she pulled away from him to sit up.

'You have a couple of hours before the morning meal. I thought you might want to use the time to bathe before everyone else gets to the bath rooms. I brought your usual clothing to change into.'

Jack sat up, wincing as his joints protested – cushions or not, he'd still slept on the floor. Sam was picking through the pile of clothing, and tossed him his uniform after extracting her red sari garments and underwear.

Jack looked at Leyna. 'So? I assume we passed?'

Leyna chuckled. 'You did. I predict you will have a _very_ happy marriage.'

Jack saw Sam blush deeply and his heart swelled with fondness. He hadn't believed it was possible to love her more, but he was certain he did.

He couldn't just be her commanding officer anymore.

They went to use the baths, Jack to the men's room and Sam to the women's. Dressed back in their usual clothes, they met in the hallway afterwards.

'I've got to go and check in with Teal'c and Daniel.' Jack said. 'And then I guess I'll see you at the wedding.'

She smiled wryly. 'Isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?'

'Given that we're not _really_ getting married, I think we'll be fine.'

He kissed her one last time, revelling in the magic of being able to do so. Then he pulled away and backed towards the door that led out, grinning at her. 'Later, Carter.'

She waved a hand and smiled back, and then the door swung shut between them.

* * *

When he exited the temple into the weak early morning sunlight, Jack wasn't surprised to find Daniel and Teal'c out there waiting for him.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at his appearance and Daniel rounded on him.

'Well?' Daniel demanded, in a 'what-do-you-have-to-say-for-yourself' tone of voice.

Jack fished his sunglasses out of his pocket and opted for ignorance.

'Well what?'

Daniel huffed angrily. ' _Well_ , what happened? Did you fuck my sister or do we need to go break her out of there?'

Jack looked up sharply at Daniel's choice of language. He had a feeling the archaeologist had been practicing that line. 'Which answer would you prefer?' He asked, honestly not sure which would get him in the most trouble.

'O'Neill.' Teal'c rumbled a warning note.

Jack held his hands up in defeat. 'Ok, ok. Firstly,' he pointed at Daniel, 'she's not your sister, so back the hell off. Secondly, she's _fine_ , thanks for asking.' He said sarcastically.

'And thirdly, yes, we did everything we were supposed to, so we're on for Plan A.'

'That would be the plan where you marry her and then we get the hell out of here with a trade deal?' Daniel asked.

'That would be the one.'

Teal'c stepped closer to him suddenly, looming over him in his personal space, a warning glint in his eye. 'Are you _certain_ Samantha is alright?' He said in a low voice.

 _Samantha?_ Since when was Teal'c so protective of her?

'I promise. She's ok. Some things are going to change when we get home, but when I left her a few minutes ago she was happy, I swear.' Jack answered quietly.

He heard Daniel whisper 'Oh', realising what he meant, but Jack maintained eye contact with Teal'c until the big jaffa inclined his head in acceptance and backed off.

Daniel cleared his throat awkwardly. 'I need to go and collect the final draft of the trade deal from Vaya. We'll need to take it to the SGC to be signed, and a diplomatic team can bring it back and make the logistical arrangements.'

Jack clapped his hands together. 'Ok. Good. Let's get this over with.'

* * *

Sam was summoned to the visitor's room off the temple foyer, and figured it was Daniel or Teal'c coming to check on her. She was considerably startled, therefore, to open the door only to be struck with some force. The blow landed on her left eye socket and she reeled back, seeing stars.

'What the hell?' She looked up with a hand to her eye, to find a tall, powerfully built woman with grey hair and severe features looking over her, a furious expression on her face.

'What right do you have to stop my son's marriage?' The other woman spat, walking towards her menacingly. 'You presume – '

Realising you she was, Sam cut her off. 'You're Ninar's mother. Your son was supposed to marry Lilia.'

'Yes. Until you decided to interfere in my business.' The woman drew her hand back to take another swing at Sam, but she ducked and darted to the side, using the considerable force of the woman's punch to unbalance her and secure her arms behind her back.

Unfortunately, the older woman was even stronger than she looked, and obviously had some hand-to-hand training.

She broke free and shoved Sam to the side, Sam narrowly avoiding tripping over the bench.

'A little help in here!' She called out to anyone who might be milling around the foyer.

'Have you any idea how much you've cost me?' The woman screamed. 'You had no right! No _right_!'

The woman seized her by the throat and started choking her, but Sam kicked out, landing a blow to the knee, and the woman went down hard with a howl of pain, dropping Sam who collapsed backwards onto the bench, panting.

Two men Sam assumed to be guards rushed in and took in the scene. 'She attacked me.' Sam explained. The guards looked at her sceptically.

'We're taking you both into custody. Madam Leyna can sort out who started it.'

* * *

Jack stormed into the temple, Daniel and Teal'c a step behind him, and demanded to anyone listening that he be taken to Leyna. Luckily an attendant was waiting there for him for just that purpose, and they were led directly to Leyna's office.

Sam was in there, leaning against the wall. Jack took one look at the red marks around her neck and her quickly blackening eye and whirled on Leyna.

'Who the hell did this?'

'Jack! Calm down, I'm fine.' Sam said, embarrassed. She waved off Daniel's fussing. 'It's just a black eye, I'll live.'

'I'm afraid Ninar's mother didn't take kindly to her son's marriage to Lilia being cancelled.' Leyna explained. 'She holds Samantha responsible. I'm sorry we didn't anticipate her making a physical attack. If I had been aware that she had come here in person to meet with Samantha I would have made sure they didn't meet alone. I hold myself responsible.'

'It's not your fault Leyna, there were bound to be consequences. She just caught me by surprise. And I certainly wasn't expecting Ninar's mother to be built like Teal'c.' Sam said ruefully, gently probing her bruised eye.

Jack approached her, and gently turned her head to assess the damage. 'You should get some ice on that.' He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers and looked at her carefully. 'Are you sure you're ok?'

'I'll be fine, I promise.' She answered him with a soft smile.

'Wow. You weren't kidding.' Daniel said, looking awestruck.

'He wasn't kidding about what?' Sam asked suspiciously.

'You really are happy.'

Sam smiled shyly. 'Yup.'

'Will Ninar's mother be punished for her crime?' Teal'c asked.

Leyna nodded. 'She's already been taken away. The adjudicator will decide on a punishment. It will likely either be a fine or some form of community service.'

'Plus I think I may have broken her kneecap.' Sam said with a sheepish grin. Jack beamed at her proudly.

* * *

Sam had barely gotten two steps out of Leyna's office when she found herself with an armful of Lilia.

'I'm so sorry.' The twenty year old sobbed.

'Hey, it's ok.' Sam soothed her. 'I'm fine, no harm done. Relatively speaking.'

'It's all my fault, I never meant for you to get hurt because of me.'

Sam pulled back. 'Lilia, look at me. I'm fine. It's just a bruise, see? I'd far rather have this than have you marry that woman's son. If he's anything like his mother I wouldn't want you anywhere near him.'

Lilia smiled tearfully. 'Thank you.'

'You're welcome.' She looked up and realised there were a similarly aged boy and girl standing behind Lilia. 'I take it you're Mikah and Lola?' She guessed.

The boy nodded. 'I wanted to thank you myself for what you did for Lilia, especially given what happened because of it. We really are very grateful.'

Lola took Lilia's arm. 'I'm so happy you saved her from Ninar, he would have been awful to her.'

'I'm glad it all worked out.' Sam smiled.


	19. Chapter 19

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 19  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: None

* * *

'She's late.' Jack commented in an undertone to Daniel. They were sitting in the main ceremony hall of the temple, the room filled with temple staff, government figures and everyone who had worked on the trade deal.

'It's traditional for the bride to be late.' Daniel said.

'On _Earth_. And I'm not sure it's traditional, I think it's just what usually happens.'

'It's probably taking them a while to cover up her black eye with make-up.'

'I bet she's loving that.' Jack said sarcastically.

'O'Neill. Your headdress is slipping.' Teal'c said, eyes sparkling with amusement.

'Oh for crying out loud.' Jack grabbed hold of the golden contraption and took it completely off his head. Daniel opened his mouth to protest, but Jack cut him off. 'I'm wearing the stupid robes Daniel, I'm not putting that thing back on my head as well. Besides, Carter will fall on her ass laughing at me if she sees me in that, and she's already been damaged enough for one day.'

The doors at the back of the hall suddenly opened, and Leyna strode to the front of the room to where Jack was standing. 'Samantha is ready.' She informed him, and then turned to face the assembled masses.

Sam appeared at the door and hurried up to the front of the hall, holding her long skirt up to avoid tripping on it. 'Sorry I'm late.' She muttered.

Jack knew he was staring at her with an inane grin on his face, but he couldn't seem to stop. She was beautiful. There was almost no sign of the bruising on her face and neck, the attendants had indeed managed to cover it with make-up. Her hair had been made to wave around her face, making it look longer than it was, and it seemed to shimmer and glitter. For the first time since she'd arrived at the temple her belly button was covered, with a long flowing dress in light blue silk that accented the curve of her breasts and her petite waist.

'Hi.' He said eventually, making her chuckle. He could practically feel Daniel rolling his eyes, but elected not to care.

Leyna welcomed them, and started a long speech, which Daniel no doubt found fascinating, about the origins of their people and the sacred duty of reproduction. It was interesting enough but went on rather long for Jack's taste. Then Leyna spoke a little about Jack and Sam themselves, and Jack itched a little in embarrassment when she gushed over their 'deep love and devotion to each other'. A glance to his left told him Sam had turned bright pink and was staring at the floor determinedly. A glance to his right told him Daniel and Teal'c were smirking at him. Well, Daniel was smirking. Teal'c somehow managed to convey the same mocking 'I told you so and I am enjoying your discomfort' vibe with just his eyebrows, damn him.

After what felt like an age, Leyna had Jack and Sam face each other and hold hands, and recite various promises, copying her verbatim as directed. Jack looked Sam in the eye the whole time, hoping she understood what he was trying to convey.

 _This might be a meaningless alien ceremony that we'll laugh about when we get home, but one day I want to do this for real._

Finally, she joined their hands with a length of silk the same colour as Sam's dress, and held up their joined hands for all to see.

'These two are married by law. May they bring forth many children.'

The assembled congregation repeated that sentence back in unison, as though it was a prayer, and then they broke into applause.

Jack returned Sam's smile and glanced aside to Leyna. 'That's it?'

'That is it, Colonel. You are now husband and wife.'

'What, no 'you may now kiss the bride'? That's the best bit.' He protested jovially. Leyna looked confused, and Sam rolled her eyes, stepped forward, and kissed him.

'Better?' She said a moment later.

'Much.'

Daniel catcalled, and Jack flipped him the bird without looking away from Sam.

Vaya stepped forward and shook Jack's free hand enthusiastically. 'Congratulations Colonel. I wish you many children and many happy years together.'

'Uh, thanks.'

'I know you will be eager to get back to your world with the trade agreement documents, but perhaps first you would join us for a meal in celebration?'

'Sure, why not?' Jack said.

'You can remove the silk tie now.' Leyna stage-whispered, nodding at the silk that bound Jack's right hand to Sam's left.

Sam unwound it and handed it back to Leyna, but she shook her head and attached it to a loop on Jack's robe. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and glared at Sam who was smothering a laugh at his expense.

'Great. Let's go eat.'

* * *

Much later that day, after night had fallen, Sam was back in uniform, and standing at the gate in the town of Nanao with her team, saying goodbye to Vaya.

'While I'm sorry that your time with us had a rocky start, I hope that you'd agree that over the course of your time here we have learnt a great deal of each other's cultures and customs, and that we've forged a strong foundation on which to build the relationship between our two peoples.' Vaya said.

Sam wondered if Vaya had scripted this, and decided that yes, she probably had.

'I hope you will take back home with you our tidings of friendship to your leaders, and that we can look forward to many productive years of co-operation ahead.'

 _Yup,_ thought Sam, _definitely scripted._

'And while I understand that your marriage on this world may not be considered binding on your own world,' Vaya said, looking to Sam and Jack, 'I sincerely hope that you do honour it. From what Leyna tells me, you would be very happy together.'

Sam smiled, and Jack nudged her arm companionably. 'We do intend to try.' Jack said.

Vaya smiled. 'I'm glad.' She looked at them all and spread her arms wide. 'I wish you a safe journey home, and I hope very much that you will all visit us again someday.'

'Thank you for your hospitality Vaya. I'm sure you'll hear from us soon.' Daniel said.

Pleasantries over with, Jack gave the order. 'Daniel, dial us home.'

Sam and Jack turned to each other as Daniel dialled the gate. 'So.'

'So.'

'I don't suppose they let you keep that dress?' Jack asked hopefully.

Sam laughed. 'No, no they didn't.'

'Dang.'

'I've got one you might like better though.' She teased.

'Really?'

She grinned at him. 'I'm glad we came here. All things considered.'

'Me too.'

The seventh chevron locked, and the wormhole connected with a whoosh of noise. Daniel sent their iris code with his GDO, and he and Teal'c headed on through the gate.

'You ready?' Jack asked.

'One last thing.'

She kissed him, thoroughly, and he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her back.

'Ok.' She said breathlessly as the kiss ended. 'Let's go home.'

* * *

 _Just the epilogue to go now ..._

 _Thanks for reading along folks, and thank you especially for all the wonderful reviews._


	20. Chapter 20

**Love, Honor and Obey - Chapter 20 - EPILOGUE  
**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor profit from their use - I merely toy with them for my own amusement.  
Chapter warnings: None

* * *

'Lieutenant, if I have to order you to pack up one more time, I'm going to lose my temper.'

 _Does it really not say Colonel anywhere on my uniform?_ Jack thought grumpily. Lt. Jennifer Hailey was great, really, but she wasn't Carter, and she was worse than Daniel for getting completely wrapped up in the importance of her own work.

'Sorry sir.' Hailey said, not sounding the least bit sorry, as she begrudgingly started packing her equipment back into its protective case.

'How about Heather and Martin?' Daniel suggested. 'That's kind of similar to Hannah and Michael. Oh! Or Anna and Mitchell!'

'Nah, Sam wants to use Hannah and Michael as the middle names, now.'

'What would you have done if it had been two boys? Or two girls?'

Jack spread his hands expansively. 'We'll never know. Hailey! Before I'm old, please!'

'I'm done sir, I'm done.' Hailey said, standing up with her case.

'It might be a bit late for that anyway.' Daniel muttered, smirking.

Jack narrowed his eyes at him. 'Just for that, Teal'c gets to be godfather.'

Teal'c smiled slightly. 'I would be honored. However, Samantha has already asked us both to share the role.'

'You know, really, you're lucky it's twins. This way you get two kids straight away, and you don't have to worry about getting pregnant again for a second one in a couple of years when you're even older.' Daniel said.

'How many ways do you think you're going to come up with to call me old, today?' Jack asked, as he led his team down the grassy hill towards the stargate.

'Oh, I've only just gotten started.' Daniel teased, grinning.

'Just dial the damn gate.' Jack grouched. Daniel jogged over to the DHD and started dialling.

'So have you picked their first names yet sir?' Hailey asked.

'We figured we'd wait till they're born and then decide.' Jack said.

'A wise decision.' Teal'c said with a nod. 'A jaffa is never named until he is born. You should meet the infants first and choose names which suit them.'

The gate activated, and Daniel sent the IDC.

'Will they be 'O'Neill's or 'Carter's?' Daniel asked as the other three caught up to him at the event horizon.

'Sam still says they should be 'O'Neill's. I think we should hyphenate.' Jack answered.

He stepped through the gate.

'You know you could solve that problem if you just married her.' Daniel said as he came out of the gate a moment after him.

'What difference would that make?' Jack argued. 'There's no way she'd take my name, she's Carter.'

'Colonel!' Hammond entered the gate room at a trot. 'Infirmary – now!'

Jack's heart leapt into his throat. 'Sam?'

'She went into labour an hour ago.'

Jack took off at a run, his team hot on his heels.

The elevator took its sweet time arriving. 'Four weeks premature?' Daniel asked quietly.

'Yes.' He answered tensely.

'Twins are prone to being a little premature though, aren't they?' Said Hailey.

The elevator arrived, and they all rushed in, Jack stabbing the button for the infirmary level.

'I'm sure she's fine, Jack. If it's only been an hour then you haven't missed anything.' Daniel said, trying to reassure him.

'Why didn't Hammond recall me?'

'As we were due back soon he probably felt it unnecessary to disrupt the mission.' Teal'c offered. 'Childbirth takes many hours; as Daniel Jackson said, you won't have missed anything.'

The doors opened, and Jack jogged through the halls to the infirmary. 'Doc?' He called. 'Doc!'

Janet Fraiser poked her head out from her office with an indulgent smile. 'Room 2, Colonel. She's doing fine.'

He about faced and walked down the corridor to the private patient rooms leaving his team behind him in the infirmary, and wrenched open the door of Room 2.

'Jack!' Sam rushed towards him and he pulled her into his arms for a brief hug, before pulling back and looking at her.

'You ok?'

'I'm having two babies a month early, of course I'm not ok.'

'Janet said you're doing fine.' He said soothingly.

'I'm not supposed to be here. We had a plan. I don't even have my bag. I'm wearing a friggin' hospital gown!' Sam ranted, stressed.

'Just breathe. I'll send Daniel to the house for your bag and your things, and there's still time to go to the hospital if you want.'

Sam leaned against him suddenly, her forehead against his shoulder, gripping his arm painfully. 'Just breathe.' He repeated, rubbing her back.

'The SGC's not set up for childbirth.' She said breathlessly when the contraction had passed.

'Why didn't you just go to the hospital in the first place?' Jack asked.

'Because I was already here, and you were offworld. What if your mission had overrun, or the labour had progressed quickly? I didn't want you to miss it in the commute from here to the hospital.'

Jack smiled and kissed her forehead. 'Well I'm here now. How about we head over to the hospital?'

'Ok.' She sighed.

* * *

'She's got your mouth.' Jack commented, gazing down at his newborn daughter adoringly.

On the hospital bed, Sam was sat propped up against some pillows cradling their son. 'She's a newborn, her face is all scrunched up.' She argued.

'Nah, I can tell, she's going to have your smile.'

'Well he's got your eyes.'

'He hasn't opened his eyes yet.' Jack argued with a grin.

'Doesn't matter, I can tell.' She teased.

Jack tucked the soft pink blanket more snugly around his daughter.

'He looks a little like Michael did.' Sam commented suddenly.

Jack smiled sadly. 'He would, he's Charlie's brother. I'm pretty sure they based Michael's appearance on my memory of Charlie as a newborn.'

'Oh.' Sam said softly.

'You know,' Jack said after a long moment. 'Daniel had an excellent suggestion, just as we came back through the gate.'

'Yeah?'

'Yeah.' He smiled lopsidedly at her. 'Marry me?'

Sam gave him that megawatt smile he lived for. 'I think we did that already.'

Jack rolled his eyes. ' _Carter_.'

'Come here.'

He gathered up his daughter and walked over to settle next to Sam on the bed, taking the opportunity to take a long fond look at his newborn son.

Then he met her eyes.

'I love you. And yes, I'll marry you. Again.' Sam said softly, smiling.

He kissed her. She pulled back after a moment, eyes twinkling, and whispered:

'But first we should name our kids.'

END

* * *

 _So, that's the end. Thank you soooo much to everyone who reviewed, it meant the world to me and I appreciate every single one of them. I hope you have enjoyed my story. Apologies to those of you who reviewed who wanted me to carry on with them on Earth rather than ending here. I might still do that at some point with a sequel, there's a lot of time I could fill in between the main story and the epilogue, but it's not going to be immediately as I'm currently working on a different one, which I'll start posting sometime soon.  
_


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